The Lost Daughter
by Pokie4life
Summary: Set in "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes." The Simian Flu is claiming more and more lives each day. When the city San Francisco is turned into a battlefield, a young girl must flee to the Redwood's to escape the anarchy, where nobody would dare follow her. But what, and whom, she discovers will forever impact her life, and those she left behind.
1. Chapter 1

**Updated.**

**I recently found out that there is an official novel of the prequel of Dawn, called "Firestorm" by Greg Keyes. I just purchased it from Coles this afternoon, and I've noticed a few flaws in my characterization. **

**One, his wife's name is Maddy, not Kathy (but I was close). Also, his two sons are John and Edward, not Mark and Dylan like I estimated.**

**So, I'm updating and correcting all my chapters up to date as of now. :D**

* * *

"Sarah, sweetie, its time to wake up."

Groaning at the sound of my name, I rolled over on my bed to face my mom. Opening my eyes a crack to see her shining face, she opens the blinds and lets the morning light flood into my room. The intense rays hit my face and blind me instantly. I jump back with a cry and bury my now aching head under my pillow, groaning in pain.

"Come on sleepy head, you don't wanna miss breakfast do you?"

At the sound of that, my stomach replied with low, hungry growls. I huffed in defeat and sat up slowly, stretching my tired stiff limbs till I felt satisfying pops free my joints. Leaning over to my night stand, I reached into the drawer and pulled out my paper mask, slipping it over my head so it hung loosely off my neck. Throwing off my covers and jumping off the squeaky springs, I followed Mom into the other room where Dad was grilling on a hot plate.

"Morning, darling" Dad called out, over the sound of sizzling eggs and hash browns.

I yawned a "Good morning" reply and took my seat at a side of the small square table. Mom walked up behind me and gave a soft kiss upon my bed head. I looked up at her with a beaming smile and gave her a kiss upon her cheek. Leaving me to my food, she noticed how dark it was in the room. Walking up to the window over the sink, she drew back the curtains and let the natural light enter the house. Outside, I could see people roaming the sparse roads and sidewalk's with paper masks covering their faces. They looked weak and hungry, scavenging whatever they could scrape off the street for trade. My chest pained at the sight; what had happened to our world to let it fall to pieces like this?

Dad said it was caused by a group of wild apes that escaped the 'Gen Sys' labs up north, and that they were infected with disease that spread to us. The people were calling it "The Simian Flu." Thousands of people had died already within the first six months of the illness, and the Government had issued closed ports, and curfews under martial law when the people started to get restless. Every night, I would hear distant gunshots in the darkness, and the horrified screams of men, women, and children who broke their curfew to try and scrap something to eat. Those that tried to outrun the law were shot under authorized deadly force. It was scary living here in the city, because there were so many out their who were unpredictable, and would do the unthinkable just to try and stay alive. I guess living under fear was the best way to keep order. Anything as little as a pocket knife or bottle of pills nowadays could be the difference between life and death. Mom was with the CDC, and they were trying to find a cure to stop this; but so far nothing.

I prayed that they would...and soon.

"Here you go, princess" Dad chimed setting a steaming plate in front of me. The heavenly aroma swirled around me and I felt my mouth begin to water. Wasting to time at all, I grabbed my fork and started to shovel my meal down my throat. Dad poured Mom and himself a cup of coffee and sat down in their seats with the paper spread out in front of them, murmuring to themselves about the latest updates on the sickness.

"Looks like it's spread to England. Already 15% of the population is infected in a few weeks!"

"But didn't they already shut down the airports?"

"Looks like somebody managed to weasel into the border before they did and spread the virus."

A moment of silence swept into the room like a chilling wind. The air went still around us before our eyes, and Mom's expression began to change. She scrunched her eyebrows together and upper lip curled with her crinkled nose. Her eyes began to gleam with moisture.

"Oh my god..."

The sound of Mom's voice began to quiver, and she stood from her seat and left the room, shutting the door behind her. Dad's face melted into one of deep concern, and he quietly followed suit. From where I sat, I could hear her quiet sobbing from through the door. In midway putting another fork-full of food into my mouth, I slowly glanced up behind and towards their bedroom door. Hearing her cry like that...it made me want to cry myself. I could tell from her tone, she was scared for the future, that the world was really ending. Dad slipped himself into the room and left the door a crack open. Quietly, I slid from my chair and tiptoed to the frame peering inside. Dad had his strong-arm wrapped around Mom's shoulders, holding her dear and close to him. Mom's shoulders quivered and her body shook as she wept in his embrace.

"It's all coming apart" I heard her whisper under her sobs.

With a heavy, sorrowful sigh, Dad pulled her closer, and whispered reassurance into her ears. "You'll find a way. You're one of the brightest in the C.D.C. Don't be saying things like that Ellie, I mean, we're all still here. Alive and together as a family."

Dad glanced up as if on cue and turned to meet me in the eyes. I jolted back startled and sunk my face behind the frame. Did he know the whole time I was here? Maybe I shouldn't have listened in, am I in trouble?

Mom looked up with tears in her eyes and saw me eavesdropping as well. With a small smile, she softly called out my name and opened her arms to invite me into the room. Slowly coming out of hiding, I peaked in to see her. I stepped into the room cautiously making my way towards them. Their friendly faces encouraged me not to be afraid, and I climbed upon the high bed with all my strength. Clutching tightly upon the thick sheets, I dragged my tiny body onto the mattress with a huff. Sitting up, I placed myself between them both and felt their love envelop me. Mothers hitched breaths were calming to gentle sobs till she exhaled with peace in mind.

"I-I'm sorry Peter...Sarah" she whispered to us, "I will be stronger for us, and we will beat this virus!"

The enriching power in her voice struck courage into our hearts, and I believed every word she said. Virus? Let's see who will live to tell the tale; of how the humans beat the Simian Flu! Mommy will find a cure, and she'll be the one to save us all!

"You can do it Mom, I know you can!"

Hearing me say that brought a smile to her face. The gloomy depressing feeling that clouded the air around us gradually dispersed, and Dad pulled us all closer together. Mom and I let out a surprised cry, and fell gently as one upon the mattress. I let out bubbly fits of laughter, and we cuddled into his barreled chest. He soaked in our warmth and affection to the last drop into his skin, warming his chilled heart for our worlds circumstance. It may be difficult, but we will find a way around this epidemic. Humanity has endured several other plagues and illnesses before in the past where it seemed all was lost, but we always fought through it to the end. Recovery will be a slow process, but I know that we will endure.

Time heals all wounds, and in time, we will see this as another historical event.

_Black Death, Asian Flu, Spanish Flu_, all had dramatic effects on man kind, yet we still thrive and live on as Earth's dominant species. They'll write this into the history books and teach about it in school, just another story how humanity lived through the worst.

Just wait and see.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. The sound brought the three of us out of our fun and broke us apart. Dad slipped out of bed and left the room. Mom slowly stood from her spot as well and cautiously poked her head around the corner. When Dad peered into the peek hole, a big smile came to his face, and he excitedly swung the door open. Who stood outside were our friend's, Dreyfus and his family. Mom's eyes lit up when she saw him and waved me over to greet them saying who it was. I slid off the bed excitedly and bounded across the room. Charging down the hall, I met them with a big smile on my face. Beside Dreyfus was his wife, Maddy, and his two sons, John and Edward. It was an exciting time when they came over to visit cause they had two kids close to my age I could play with. Dreyfus and Maddy were so nice, but it was rare when Maddy came. She was with the U.S army you see, so she was always drafted to somewhere on the other side of the world. But now during the flu, she was needed here to keep the peace at the checkpoints and zones. As soon as she saw my beaming face, she got down on one knee in her baggy camo-pants and stretched out her arms.

"Hey there, doll face" she cried with a smile, embracing me tightly.

"Hi Aunt Maddy!" I replied with the equal amount of enthusiasm. Even though she's not my real aunt, Daddy wants me to call her that out of respect and love. I like calling her "Aunt" cause it makes it feel like she's one of the family.

Once we let go of each other after a while, I turned to the boys. "Hey guys, how's it going?" I greeted.

"Its been good. We found a new house closer to dads work and closer to you guys!" John exclaimed.

Mom and Dad both smiled at the news and congratulated the couple who thanked in regard. "Hey, why don't you kids go play in the back yard?" Kathy offered.

The three of us exchanged looks of approval, and we charged out the back door. "Remember to wear your masks!" Dreyfus called out to us. I stopped and slid the cover of my mask that dangled around my neck to the front of my face. John and Edward reached into their back pockets, and pulled out similar masks, and did the same following my swiftly out the sliding glass doors. We immediately started to chase each other around the fence enclosed space, claiming 'tag you're it!' every few minutes. I could sense that the adults were watching us all with a watchful, careful eye. Standing still in the middle of the yard to observe this left me completely vulnerable to attack, and I was tagged by a fleeing, laughing Edward. His blonde hair shined in the sunlight as soon as he passed me catching my attention. A full on wave of competition shot through me and I was recharged for the chase. Out of the three of us, I was considered the most agile and quick, so I was never really a target in tag. But when I drop my guard for even a moment, they take their chance and wallow in satisfaction that the 'All Speedy Sarah' was caught.'

But their accomplishment never lived for long. I thrived in the thrill of the chase. Like a cheetah chasing an antelope, I always got my target.

For hours, we went back and forth tagging one another. We were so full of energy and spite that we had never even noticed that it was already creeping into the evening. The sun had already made its way halfway across the sky and was headed for the ocean. What we also were oblivious to were the rolling in storm clouds from the east. The distant rumbling of thunder brought it to our attention and we planned for an early retirement.

After a few more rounds of our games, Dreyfus stuck his head out of the door and called for his sons to come back inside, that they were going to leave soon.

As soon as we were heading inside, the distant sounds of gunshots brought us back to the fence. "Mom, Dad!" John called out. Dreyfus and Maddy heard the call of their child and came out to the porch. They too heard the fields of fire, and looked at each other in confusion. My Mother and Father followed them out when they heard the boys calls to see what the commotion was about. Dad rushed to the side gate and walked out to the front yard to inspect the neighborhood. We were about to follow when Maddy told us to stay in the yard as she followed the adults around. Edward rushed to the fence and found called me and his brother over. He had discovered a hole large enough for all three of us to peek out of. We shoved our heads together to look out, and what we saw astounded us.

We saw smoke rising out of the city!

A thick, black cloud of cinders and ash rose to the sky acting like a warning beacon. Something was going on, and it wasn't good. Soon the sparse sounds of gunfire became more close together, until it sounded there was a full-out war going on! The adults came rushing back into the yard and herded us into the house. Dad locked the back gate and the back doors. He and Mother then proceeded to make sure every door and window was shut and locked tightly. Dreyfus turned to his wife, and they both nodded. Maddy fished her keys from her pocket and went out to her car. I looked out the window to see her popping open her trunk. She dug around in it before pulling out a large gun! She then pulled out three smaller hand guns, putting one in her holster strapped to her waist, and slamming the trunk door shut. She returned inside and handed Dreyfus and my Father a gun. Reaching into her pocket, she gave each a handful of bullets which they stored into their own pockets.

"Maddy, let us help you!" Mom pleaded.

Maddy shook her head and made sure her firearm had a full cylinder clip. "I'm sorry Ellie I can't let you, this sounds like it could really get out of hand!"

Mom ran to the living room coffee table and opened one of the drawers. After digging everything out, she pulled out a gun of her own! Everybody was dumbfounded by the sudden secret revealment. "My uncle was a police officer, taught me how to point and shoot to kill in defense."

"But why did you have a hidden gun?" Dad asked her shocked.

She looked at him with a flat expression. "When you live with plenty in a time of poor, it would be wise to keep something hidden away just to be safe, for protection."

Maddy sighed and agreed with haste, there was little time to spare.

"Mommy can we come too?" I called after her.

"Absolutely not!" she spat out, "this is very dangerous, and anything can happen!"

Dreyfus then looked up at her. "But if we're all going, who's gonna stay and protect them? In case someone breaks in and steals while they're here? They could be desperate. When people get desperate, they become very violent, so I wouldn't be surprised if they came armed."

Mom went silent, and lowered her head in deep thought. Dad turned and looked at his wife. "Honey, the supplies can be replaced, the kids can't."

Looking up and meeting him in the eyes, she gave in, and said "OK." John, Edward, and I all jumped for joy and were just about to run out the door to the car but we were stopped abruptly by Mom's harsh tone. "But! Only if you don't leave the car, and you do as we say without any 'ifs' or 'buts', am I clear?" she finalized.

The three of us looked up and agreed without an argument, and hopped into the back seat of or parents vehicles. Swiftly the adults piled into their cars and the engines roared to life. We backed out of the driveway, and sped off toward the tower of smoke spewing out of San Francisco.


	2. Chapter 2

Dad had his foot slammed down as far as the gas pedal would go, following Maddy and Dreyfus leading ahead. I stayed ducked under behind Mother in the rear passenger side like she told me to, and held on tightly to the edges of the leather seat. Every bump and turn felt like being on a roller coaster ride. Fast and sudden movements sent wave after wave of adrenaline through my veins, exciting me. I peeked my head out from beneath the window for a brief moment to check on where we were. We had been driving for a good twenty minutes or so, so we should've been arriving within the city's limits soon.

My expectations were correct, when the large tower of smoke had spread to a great big wall of black and flames. The fires had spread to the center regions of the city where a large tower was being constructed. I could see flames licking the outside edges of brick and concrete walls through smashed windows and doorways making charred scars in the building foundation. Dad suddenly slowed the car to an immediate halt behind the truck in front. I was thrown into the back of Mom's seat with a thud. I looked out the wind-shield to see a group of armed police talking to Kathy in the drivers window. When they noticed us behind, a pair of cops came to both sides of the vehicle. Dad complied without question when the first one knocked gently on the door while the second started to inspect our car from the outside.

"What brings you here? We have a situation on our hands" the officer said.

"We've come to help" Dad replied.

The police officer gave him a skeptical look, furrowing his brow's together. Taking a look at Mom, then turning to look at me. He glanced towards me when he asked Dad a second question. "Are any of you infected?"

Dad shook his head. "No sir."

As Dad lowered his paper mask, Mom and I did the same to prove that we weren't hiding anything that could be a symptom. Sore throat, violent coughing and sneezing of blood, fever, and sweating were the main components of the flu that separated the sick from the healthy. After a good long look at all three of us, the policeman gave a curt nod and looked to his partner who just finished circling our car, giving a thumbs up with a "clear."

He looked back at us, and then asked one last question. "Do you know how to shoot?"

"My uncle's a cop" Mom called out to him, "I've had a few sessions at the gallery" Dad answered.

He then turned to me, not asking me anything about how to use a firearm. He gave a final nod to Dad, and turned to his buddies who were checking Dreyfus's vehicle, giving them the green. He looked up at the gate operator and gave him a wave, signalling to open the doors. With a push of a button from within the small side shed, a loud buzzard blared out, and the heavy doors swung inward to the city. Before Dad continued on, he stuck his head out the window one last time. "What's going on in there?"

"We've tried to quarantine the infected to an enclosed, less populated area of the city near the ghetto's for some time now. We've done our best with what little resources we have to keep them alive, and they've got mad! Gangs have united to form a gigantic, infected army! They've collected and saved up enough guns and manpower under the radar to manifest a whole new kind of war! We have them blocked off in Zone 7, but they're pushing through!"

Maddy heard everything from her opened window, and she called out "We got this!"

When the doors were wide enough for the vehicles to get through, Maddy put the pedal to the metal and lead the charge to battle! I was thrown back into my seat when Dad went after them. The tires squealed on the pavement with protest that were masked by the screams of terror coming from the city walls. We raced closely behind our friends towards the belly of the beast. I watched crouched out my window, watching the consuming flames chase families out of their homes onto the streets. We swerved around abandoned cars and running crowds so frequently I felt like we were riding a serpentine. The overlapping fields of gunfire in the distance became closer and louder with each passing moment until I could feel their power ripple through the air and vibrate the outside of the car. Groups of men stood perched atop of large walls pointing and firing their weapons down into the streets, taking more and more lives that stained the concrete in crimson. Women and children ran for their lives into the back alleys around them for protection and shelter, while their husbands, brothers, and fathers pushed on to protect the ones they loved.

When Dad was forced to slam on the brakes I was ripped away from the window and was stopped by my seat-belt from hitting the front seat again, but the strong pull within my neck caused my to cry out in pain. I rubbed the reddening sore spot in the fleshy area of my throat to ease the tear-like pain. When I wasn't paying attention however to the world outside, somebody was approaching the car. Mom noticed and called behind to me "Sarah, get down!"

My ears shot up at the sound of my name, and I instinctively put my head between my knees just as a large iron crowbar soared over me, shattering the glass. The fragmented shards rained down upon me like hail. The sound of the smashing shield caused a piercing scream to rip through me. Mom and Dads heads spun around in a flash to face my attacker. A large, filthy looking man dressed in tattered clothes and a dawned messy, bloody beard was trying to reach into the cabin for the first aid kit that fell on the floor between the seats. I didn't dare look up from my armadillo curl, but he sounded very, very sick. Racks of violent coughs tore through him with each breath he took.

"Please, help me!" he shouted in a desperate, demanding tone. My eyes didn't open until I heard Dad call out in shock.

Looking out of the corner of my eye, the man had splattered a heap of blood all over Dad's face!

"Peter, kill him! Kill him!" Mom screamed in horror.

Dad reached into his pocket and retrieved the pistol that Maddy had given him, and pointed it directly at the man. Pulling back the hammer with his thumb, the gun clicked, and the man's head shot up at the distinctive sound. His eye widened to as wide as they could go, and he scrambled to try and get himself out of the broken window. His desperate movements caused his chest and arms to be impaled deep multiple times by the clinging glass, and his skin and muscle tissue were ripped to shreds. Blood flooded into the back of the car all over my seat. Seeing the sight of the liquid caused my body to go into overdrive, and I unbuckled and tore off the leather strap that bound me to the cushion, scooting away to the opposite end of the seats in a flash.

Dad took immediate aim and pulled the trigger. A bullet went out with a deafening boom, and struck him between the eyes. Red trickles flowed out of the newly formed circle in his forehead. His thrashing stopped and he went limp; half of him in the car, the other half hanging outside.

My tiny body was pressed tightly up against the back door, staring in complete awestruck at the bloody scene before me. His body twitched with the last remaining nerve impulses weakly surging through his corpse. Everything was going slower around me. I had just witnessed a murder! The sounds in the background went faint and quiet. Wailing sirens died out and gun fire seized.

Mother jumped out of the car and sped to my side. I didn't even hear her movements through the high-pitched whine in my ears. My support was swept right out from behind me when she opened the door. Her arms were spread out and caught my stiffened form. Maddy had squealed her truck to a halt when she noticed what was happening through her rear view mirror. I could feel my little heart beat a mile a minute, thundering mercilessly inside my chest. Mom held me close to her chest and rocked me gently to try and calm my nerves.

"Oh my god!" Dreyfus whispered under his hitched breath when he saw the blood soaked scene. He jumped right out of his seat when his wife did, and circled around to us.

Dad stepped out of his car with his hand covering his face. Taking a handkerchief from his chest pocket he wiped the red droplets from his paled face. Dreyfus saw his friend cleaning off the infected mess, and his eye's widened. "Peter...no."

"I'm fine, Dreyfus" Dad retorted, throwing the stained cloth into a nearby fire. Taking his water bottle from his pant pocket, he doused himself in the lukewarm drink. Streams of rusty-red streamed in with the clear liquid, cleansing his face free of the dried splatters. Feeling the moisture evaporate off his face from the intense heat around us left a refreshing sensation in his skin. He turned to Mom with a side smile. "See? I'm OK."

Her brows knitted together, eyes narrowing with a worried frown wrinkling her features. She grasped Dads mask and pulled it up further over his face. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a small bottle of hand sanitizer. Placing it into his open palm, she told him "Just to be safe."

Reluctantly, he placed a few drops onto his fingertips, and started to rub it into his cheeks and forehead. A strong alcoholic scent burned my nostrils as he applied it. His face cringed a little bit when the sanitizer started to tingle his pores. Rubbing a squirt into his hands he was back in business. He turned to Maddy and Dreyfus, who had a worried look etched into their face's.

"I don't think that Sarah want's to get back into an infected car seat, so everyone hop into our truck and we'll park outside of Zone 6, make our way to 7" instructed Dreyfus.

Mom and Dad nodded at the plan, and Mom held me in her arms, carrying me to the back seat of their vehicle with John and Edward. They scooted over to make room for me, and Mom placed herself with me in her lap. When Dad went to hop into the other side, Maddy stopped him halfway. Her suspicious expression told him loud and clear that she didn't think it was a good idea for him to be near the kids after coming into direct contact with the Simian Flu.

"I think it would be a better idea if you held on tight in the bed" she said.

"But I'm fine, really" he protested.

Her face didn't let up. Dads face melted into one of shock and disappointment. Peering through the tinted windows, he could make out the dark silhouettes of our heads. He let out a sigh, and hauled himself from the tires and into the back bed. Getting onto his knee's, he grasped tightly onto the railings. I turned my head around feeling the back of the truck bounce a bit, and waved at him through the window. He gave a small smile, and waved back. Maddy saw the connection between us, and gave a sentimental frown as she hopped back into the drivers seat. The engine roared to life and we were back on our way.

While the boys chatted amongst themselves, my wide eyes never left the window. The streets had become nearly abandoned by the people. Every few blocks I would only see a handful of heads poking out. The smoke had charred the skies above, and buildings were leveled to the ground in ashes. Windows were smashed to pieces, pylons toppled over and garbage littered the streets. Plastic bags rolled in the wind over the hills like tumble weeds upon the unforgiving desert sand dunes. I placed my finger tips among the glass, pulling it back in surprise when the surface was hot to the touch. I looked back at Dad who had his coat draped over him like a protective blanket from the heat. Glowing orange cinders danced in the air like fireflies in the night. I pulled myself closer to Mom in fear.

This is how our world would fall apart?

This is hell on earth.

Suddenly, we turned off of the highway and into an empty alleyway a few streets away from our checkpoint. The truck slowly came to a halt hidden in the shadows, and the engine was killed. My head perked up when I felt Mom move me off of her lap and into Edwards arms. She opened the door and slid herself out. My eyes widened and I didn't tear them from her. Spinning around to see Dreyfus and Maddy exiting as well, I could feel a large building up of panic bubble in me. Feeling another bounce from the back of the truck, I saw that Dad was no longer in the bed. My breath hitched in my throat, and I could feel myself start to hyperventilate.

This sudden wave of anxiety, after experiencing first hand of what humanity could transform into in desperation...I feared that Mom or Dad would be victimized like I was. But this time, they were facing it head on.

Edward noticed my change in behavior, and he held me close to him. Before Mom and Dad left with his parents, they leaned into my door and told me not to leave the car and that they loved me. Switching out with Dreyfus and Maddy, they told the same, and to take care of me. John and Edward nodded without hesitation, and their Father slammed the door shut. I crawled from Edwards arms and placed my hands upon the glass peering out. The four of them exchanged their battle plan and what points they would be taking upon the Zone 7 wall. Finishing with a nod, they broke off and charged down the street.

Leaving the three of us completely alone...


	3. Chapter 3

Ever since the adults left, the volume of the gunfire only a few blocks away had sky-rocketed. My mind was wrapped around the possible horrifying fact that Mom and Dad could be in some real danger, or maybe they were already dead! The two boys tried their best to keep me at ease, but my tiny body couldn't stop trembling in Marks arms. No matter what they said or did it had little effect on my current mental state.

I couldn't get that bloody image from my head. His whole face was just a beat red and strained in agony. My blood ran cold when I remembered the amount of power he had put into his attacks, it was like a rabid dog. If I didn't duck down when I did, he would've killed me! I wrapped my arms around my shaking body and embraced myself tightly to try and still my nerves. Edwards eyebrows knitted together in deep, deep concern and worry. He wrapped his arms securely around me, feeling my each and every sob building up. He cupped the back of my head and held me close to his chest. From where I was, I could hear his heart beat frantically inside his chest. He was scared for his parents too. Peeking from under his arm, John was in no better emotional state.

They've been gone only twenty minutes, but it felt like forever ago. The longer I had to wait for them to return, the more tempted I would be to just get up and run right out that door! I think Edward could feel my excitement of the thought, and saw me looking maliciously at the exit. He shook his head and held me tighter supporting my lower back. "Sarah, don't get any ideas" he warned.

I didn't respond.

He took my hand in his, and turned my head so I looked him straight into his eyes. "Look at me and listen" he began,"Our parents are strong. They can handle this."

"But I gotta know if Mommy and Daddy are OK! I want to help!" I pleaded on the verge of tears.

Edward sternly shook his head, glaring down. "With what weapon? You don't know how to use a gun! And besides, Mom and Dad told us not to leave the truck!"

"I don't care!" I started to cry, squirming and wriggling out of his arms. John saw my strength, and he scooted over to the opposite end of the truck so that he and his brother cut off both doors, leaving me stuck in the middle. They were both bigger than me, and with me between them, I was certain that I wasn't leaving this vehicle.

"He's right, Sarah" John spoke. "Me and Ed are both scared for them, but in order for them to do their duty, they have trusted in us not to interfere and get in the way by staying here!"

John's words beyond his years caught my attention, and I stilled my body.

"They're busy protecting the city, protecting what little we all have left...protecting us. If they're going to fight, they don't have time to stay and babysit us. We're all not babies any more, and we need to help them by doing exactly as they say without question. Do you remember what your Mom told us when we wanted to come along?"

_"Only if you don't leave the car, and do as we say without any 'ifs' or 'buts."_

A defeated frown came upon my face, and I slowly nodded.

John and Edward both looked at each other, and nodded. They had got to me. It's amazing that them being only a few years older than me, they have their parents wisdom. They have never failed to convince me in the past, but in this dire hour, I was certain that nothing was going to stop me from fighting to get my way.

John looked down at me with a soft smile, and used his sleeve to dry away the tears on my puffy cheeks. Making sure that I was OK now, the two of them leaned over and held me in a comforting embrace. I could feel my fears be absorbed with their warmth, and my heart started to settle. I supposed I could wait for the fighting to stop now.

Suddenly, as if my prayers were answered, the gunfire had ceased in the background. It took the three of us a few moments to realize it, but our heads perked up at the alien silence. "What's going on?" I asked timidly. Edward quietly hushed me, and leaned over and peeked out the window breaking our embrace. He shifted his body round to try to angle himself so that he could see around the corner. John and I awaited in the chilling silence, getting more anxious by the minute.

We got our answer. Ed's face had flushed of color when he swiftly spun around and tackled the two of us to the ground. "Get down!" he shouted.

John and I instinctively grasped onto each other Edward as threw his body over top of us, pinning us down. An enormous abrupt boom exploded from the street, rocking the cabin and shattering all the windows. We grunted as we felt the power ripple through the air and strike the truck with great power. Edward's face was scrunched up in pain when we opened our eyes again. Shards of fragmented glass fell into the crevice's of the leather seats, and dazzled the floor mats in treacherous white sparkles like snow. When Ed pushed himself back up, shards of glass slid down from his back and piled behind him. Shaking his head in dismay, he looked down at us with concern.

"Are you guys alright?" he asked panting, given the breath knocked out of him.

John and I exchanged shocked glances, and nodded.

Edward looked behind him and saw that the truck was too hazardous to take refuge in. With a grunt, he leaned over the two of us and opened the door. With the powerful impact the explosion gave us, the door gave way and fell to the pavement with a loud crash. He carefully maneuvered over us and hopped outside into the alley. John slowly leaned up with me in his arms, careful of any stray shards, and handed me over to Edward who had his arms wide open. He took me and placed me beside him on the pavement, then returning to assist his brother out of the back seats. He wrapped an arm around his shoulders and worked as his balance when he hopped out of the back. When his feet hit the ground, he bumped him accidentally. Edward let out a loud cry of pain, and got down onto one knee clutching his side.

John dove down to his brothers level, and looked him in the eye. "Are you OK?!"

Edward grinded his teeth in pain, and pushed himself off of John's shoulders to get back to his feet. He felt something warm and sticky on his hands. When he straightened up fully, I caught a stream of red run down his leg. I cried out upon immediate notice. John and Edward's heads shot up and looked to where I was pointing. John's eye's widened, and he lifted his siblings shirt from behind. Ed took his hand away from his side, and saw that its entire palm was caked in fresh, red blood.

There...sticking out of his backside...was a large shard of glass!

It wasn't very thick, but looked long enough to poke one of his organs!

John wandered around his brother, inspecting the injury from all angles. His face was etched with worry. He didn't have the slightest clue what to do, and neither did I!

Do you take it out? Do you leave it in?

This is stressing me out!

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

Edward looked up to his brother weakly and nodded, humming yes.

John took the dangling hem of his stained shirt, and started to tear it off. If he had put it down, the fabric could get caught on the glass and dig its way deeper. Once torn off, he knelt down and started to lightly dab away the blood. Upon the first touch of the tender wound, Edward hissed deeply, and bit down hard upon his lip. The scene before me made my stomach instantly sour, and I couldn't watch. Every touch felt like a hot iron to him, until he couldn't take it any more. He roughly brushed his brothers gentle hand away from the wound with a cry and started to limp towards the wall for support. He leaned against the brick, and slid down to sit in the gravel. A relieved sigh blew through his parted lips, but a wave of pain surged through him and he grasped his ribs with pure agony.

"We need to get him help!" I cried.

John looked at me with sheer panic. "Help?! Where are we gonna get help?!"

I paused for a quick moment for thinking. Suddenly, the gunfire started up again. That's when it hit me.

"Mommy's a doctor! She can help!"

John's face flourished when he remembered that she was with the C.D.C. But then it melted away remembering what they were told. "But-"

"John, please. This is an emergency. I couldn't live knowing that I could have saved my friend's life, but didn't because someone said 'no."

John looked back down at his suffering sibling. Edward's face was becoming paler with every passing moment, his blood pooling around where he sat. John had a decision to make. Send out a six-year-old into a war zone, or leave his brother in his dying moments. He let out a deep, graving sigh. He looked up at me, dead in the eyes. Without a hint of any other emotion but pure seriousness, he whispered to me "...be careful..."

I nodded without hesitation, and looked down at Edward. "Don't worry buddy, I'll get you help."

His face was going whiter with each wasted second of talking. I jumped up to my feet, and bolted down the alleyway into the open sunlight. The first thing that hit me was the intensifying heat of the spreading fires all around me. With the already scorching summer California heat blazing down my back, it felt like walking straight into an oven! I stood out in the empty street, ears open for the sound of rifle rounds being unloaded. When I heard their distant echoing shooting, I made a break for the sound. Mom said that they were going to Zone 7. That was a few blocks away.

But Edward's life was depending on me!

Securing my mask to my face, I took in a deep breath, and charged down the street.

* * *

Almost every three minutes I would have to switch out my magazine with fresh rounds, they just wouldn't stop coming! Already there were at least two hundred bodies scattered across the highway and side walks. My gun barrel was roasting hot with the discharges and add the heat all around us, it was starting to become a problem to just hold it. With the sun making its way towards the western coasts, I could hear the distant rumbling of the storm clouds roll is from the east under our shooting. The whole street was stained with mixed puddles of blood, pools formed around each baking body till the whole pavement was a dark ruby pit.

Hopefully this wouldn't last for too much longer.

I spoke too soon. As soon as I had cocked in a seventh clip and took aim, their army of the sick had somehow managed to double in size! They were forcing those that didn't want to contribute into the battlefield! I turned to the chief of police, Norman Burston, who was perched a few meters away from me with an AK-47, and called to him "We can't hold out for much longer, I'm down to two clips!"

He looked over to me, and replied over the deafening shots "I got a squad of pilots flying in from northbound! They're gonna napalm B Zones 8 through 5 where the virus is more concentrated!"

My face dropped into pure shock. "But all the people-"

"Who are healthy have been notified and have evacuated the area to Zone 1, far from the blast and safe."

I felt my heart stop. Dreyfus, Maddy, and Peter all heard what Norman had said. Their faces told the same fearful story. "The kids!" Peter cried out.

We had left them in Zone 6, right in the middle of the blast! Dreyfus and Maddy immediately dropped their weapons, and started to climb from the wall. Burston watched in shock. "Where the hell are you all going?!" he shouted.

"Sir, with all due respect, we have families we need to protect. You've already called in the air support, its only a short matter of time before they burn half the city to the ground! The infected wont make it very far through the barrier, they won't be able to escape the blast perimeter in time." Maddy called up from below.

"Get your's out of here now!" Dreyfus added from afar.

Before Norman had time to protest, the four of us had already abandoned our posts and were disappearing into the narrows. We didn't have much time to make it back and out of here. With the sun hot on my back and flames dancing in my face, I could feel the energy within me drain away with each running stride I took. My maternity instincts had my legs going out full speed just to make it back to the kids, but it was wearing me out faster than I thought. Peter noticed this right away, and tried to wait for me to catch up. I shook my head and yelled up at him "Don't worry about me, I'll catch up! Get to Sarah!"

Of course, he didn't listen. He turned straight back around, and bent over for me to climb on his back. "Get on!" he ordered.

I didn't want to, and pushed right on forward. "You need your strength, I'll be fine!" I protested.

He didn't take no for an answer. When I tried to march on, he ran right up from behind and scooped me up into his arms bridal style. The sudden lift almost made me drop my gun, but I wrapped an arm around his neck and hung on for the ride. The strength he put in behind each stride was astounding to me. Even in this blazing heat, he still managed to maintain his stamina and muscle power. We passed dozens of abandoned vehicles, but one of them was engulfed in flames. The buildings all around us were void of any windows, and their glass was shattered and spread out all around the side-walk.

"Zone 6!" Peter called out, seeing the large font text in a bold orange printed upon the bridge.

Dreyfus looked down each and every corridor alleyway we passed, until he called out "Found them!"

A huge wave of relief washed over me, and Peter placed me back upon my feet. I followed him around the corner, passing Dreyfus and Maddy, into the side street, into the cool shaded darkness. The first thing I did was call for my daughter. "Sarah!"

Too my confusion, I didn't hear a reply in a small high-pitched voice. "Hey, over here! We need a doctor!" a lower pitched voice called to us.

Oh no, what happened?!

When that voice echoed out of the shadows, Dreyfus and Maddy bolted right pass Peter and I towards them deeper in, I could make out two forms. One standing up, the other curled up on the ground. Getting closer, it was John and Edward. Maddy dove down onto her knees, dropping her weapons and hugging her son. Dreyfus came up close behind and looked over the pair's shoulders. His face flushed of colour, and he dropped onto his knees seeing his son's state.

"Mad, his side!" he addressed in a very worried tone.

She released John from their embrace, and turned her second son over to see what was wrong. When she saw the large shard of transparent crystal embedded into her baby's right side, she let out a horrified scream that rattled all of our ears. "Edward!" she cried out.

She placed a gentle hand upon his neck to find a pulse. Her face relaxed the tiniest bit when she felt the faint pumping in his veins. When Edward felt her motherly touch upon his skin, he whispered in pain "Hi...Mom."

"Oh my god, what happened?" she started to gently sob.

"He saved us from an explosion" John answered, "Shielded us from the blast with his on body."

Dreyfus looked up at John in disbelief, and back down at his son with tears in his eyes. "You're such a brave boy" he whispered, stroking head proudly, holding back shaky, hitched breaths.

I gently pushed past the couple with a steady hand, and knelt down beside the injured boy. "I will do what I can" I assured them. They looked up at me with tears in their eyes, and moved aside so that I had room. Behind me, Peter was looking all over the car. "Hey, where's Sarah?!" he called out.

John's head shot up when he heard her name. "She went out looking for you!" he said to me, "Said that you could help us!"

My eyes widened. "How long ago was that?" I asked.

The young boy's eyes saddened, and he looked away. Hesitantly, he replied "I don't know."

I looked up at my husband, who was just as scared as I was. Suddenly, the loud chopping of rotor blades could be heard creeping towards us from the distance. We were out of time. I looked down back at Edward, who's breathing was becoming shallow and weak. I took off my backpack from my shoulders and unzipped it open. Taking out a roll of absorbent bandages, I looked into the young boys eyes. "Ed, this is going to hurt" I warned him.

His eyes widened a little, but he shut them tightly and braced himself.

I took hold of the exposed end of the glass gently between my fingers, and swiftly swiped it cleanly out of his body. He let out an ear splitting scream of pain as the edges sliced his skin . His parents beside me took hold of each other tightly, watching their boy suffer. I tossed the bloody shard aside, and used my free hand to pull him upright. "John, I need you to hold him up while we bandage him up. We don't have any time to spare!"

He obliged without question, and held his brother steady. I looked up at Dreyfus, and handed him the roll. "Dreyfus, I need you and Maddy to patch him up while I go looking for Sarah. Take the kids and Peter, and get them clear of the blast."

Peter grasped my shoulder. "You're not going out there alone!"

"I can move faster if I look by myself. I'm her Mother!"

"And I'm her Father! We work as a team!"

The sounds of several other choppers came flying in. All of our heads shot up to the sky, nerves on edge. "If you both go you'll get caught in the drop!"

"Mad, give us five minutes. Please." I begged.

Her expression changed from panic to deep thought. Dreyfus looked up from bandaging Edward, also taking the thought into consideration. I looked at the couple with tears streaming own my face. I could feel my heart pound in my chest, sweat dripping off my face. "Please..." I whispered, "she's my daughter..."

Maddy looked to her husband for his insight on the situation. His face held sympathy and uncertainty, a nerve-racking combination. She sighed, and looked back to us.

"Five minutes."


	4. Chapter 4

I didn't have much time.

Edward's life was depending on me.

Sweat dribbled down my face, and the sun was hot on my back. My stubby little legs felt like they were on fire, running in overdrive across the baking pavement wasteland. Dozens of scattered fires consumed as much as they could from small front lots, to ten story buildings; reducing all to ash and cinders, and adding to the scorching summer heat. I could feel my head pulsate with each breath I took, brain twisting and aching. My heart was beating a mile a minute, thundering against my petite rib cage. I now knew what the saying 'the world on your shoulders' felt like. The building pressure upon my head was excruciating.

"Zone 7. Zone 7" I kept repeating to myself in hagged, raspy pants.

Looking up to the sky, the storm clouds from before rumbled loudly in the distant east. I could see faint flickers of light sparking from within the bodies. Bright white and blue bolts clashed against one another from within the approaching furor, creating a dazzling afar display. Already, I could see a downpour start to drench the hillsides and create vigorous ripples in the channel.

"Fourth street, Third, Second, First!"

Grasping hold of the tall steel post, I swung my tired sweaty body around the sign and flung my body down the road. Like a bullet shot from a gun, the momentum threw me ahead at a breakneck pace for me. The cooling wind blew against my gleaming face and sent my loose hairs flying behind my shoulders. My once twin braids had come undone in hanging bundles of wavy hair and elastics. Using one of my hands, I hooked my fingers around each band and tugged it fully free from my hair, letting its chestnut strands flow in the breeze freely.

Finally, up ahead, I could see the big bold orange print painted upon the wall. 'Zone 7'

Never before did my face beam with hope as much as it had right then and there. I was so close! I could grab Mommy and take her back to Edward in no time! Edward was going to be OK! Edward would-

Wait a minute...what happened to all the gunfire?

Just now realizing the stale silence after who knows how long, I skidded to a halt in my tracks.

Taking a closer look upon the wall...nobody was arming it. It was completely deserted!

Shaking my head in shock, my eyes widened and jaw dropped when no life showed itself atop or behind the barrier. Picking my pace back up to a jog, I started to run towards it, soon breaking out into a full on sprint when still nothing came out. Swinging my fists with all my strength at my sides, I charged to the checkpoint in sheer desperation. Somebody had to be there, anybody!

Where was she?!

Finally arriving at the base of the ten foot wall, I slapped my tiny hands upon the concrete and took in its chilled texture. Looking up at the top, I called out "Hey! We need help! Is anybody up there?!"

I felt my heart sink like a stone down to the pit of my stomach. All that replied to me was the deafening, dead, haunting silence. My breath hitched in my throat, and I started to climb the staircase that was installed on the left side of the gated archway. Pulling myself up with the iron railing, I marched up to the top and gazed out upon the other side.

What I saw completely devoided me of words.

A whole army of staggering people were climbing over the tall pile of cars that acted as a secondary defense wall. They were beat red in the face, coughing remorselessly, and had blood dripping out of their eyes, noses, and mouths. On my side of the wall, there were dozens of dead infected people lying face down on the simmering street. These zombie-like survivors were completely overlooking their deceased presence, and hobbled as fast as their energy drained legs would take them. Behind them, they trailed droplets of blood that quickly started to evaporate off the surface of the pavement, leaving behind dark crimson stains. What surprised and scared me the most at the almost lack of effort it took them to climb up and over almost fifteen, twenty feet of pure scrap metal and glass, and at the rate of how fast they were scrambling over it too! They came pouring out by the fives and tens in under a minute, like ants crawling out of a mound. It only took them a few minutes before they were at the base of the wall, clawing and trying to break through the gate. My eyes widened in fear, and I quickly slid down the railing and bolted down around to hide in the narrows across the street.

I dove behind a rusty dumpster just in time before a loud metal crash exploded from the wall! Peering around the edge, somebody had managed to hot wire one of the still operable cars abandoned in the street, and crashed it straight through the gate! The large iron-barred doors went flying off their hinges and demolished a nearby buildings front windows. Their shredded throats let out victorious riot battle cries, and they flooded into the city walls. My eyes widened, and I took off down deeper into the alleyway. The back road took me to California street that cut through Zone 8 and led straight to Zone 9; the Golden Gate Bridge. Up ahead, I could see its tall twin orange towers peek out above the building roofs. Coming out of the alleyway, I didn't pay attention to my footing, and accidentally knocked over an old beer bottle from its standing position, shattering it upon immediate impact with the street.

I eyes squeezed shut and my shoulders tensed up.

"Hey man, did you hear that?"

"Yeah! You think they got anything worth scavenging?"

My ears perked up at the masculine voices from around the corner. Turning my head back down the narrows, I could see two approaching shadows stretch along the right wall. I felt my heart leap up into my throat, and I took off down the street. From where they stood, they heard my fleeing footsteps, and cursed as they saw I was getting away. Not looking back, I could hear their pace break out in a desperate sprint causing me to put myself into overdrive one again. Not to save another's life, but probably my own!

I always knew that I was the fastest out of my schoolmates and friends, but these were grown adults! I had my speed finally put to the test.

Peering over my shoulder, I saw that they were two boys around eighteen, twenty years old. Their faces were bloody like the rest, and their shirts were stained with red. One had black hair, the other had blonde. They skidded around the corner and came at me like rabid animals. My eyes widened, and I ran as fast as my tiny legs would carry me. The scenery around me became a big blur at the edges of my vision. Their loud distant shouting for me to stop were growing fainter the further I ran, but they still managed to follow my trail. The twin towers became closer with every passing minute, shining a hopeful light into my heart; maybe there was somebody at the zone gates who could help me!

Suddenly, over the loud sound of blood pounding in my ears, the sounds of approaching aircraft came soaring in from the sky. Looking up, I could see a fleet of several helicopters some flying in from the north, roaring right overhead me. They were so close to the buildings that they nearly grazed their landing skids. I watched them with curious and fearful eyes as they flew to the heart of the city. The two boys behind me slowly came to a halt at the sight of them. I took this chance to run ahead and hide behind one of the many cubic mail box units lining the sidewalks to catch my breath. My lungs felt as if they were on fire. Each strained breath I took grew a powerful ache from within my stomach and calves. Leaning against the cool shaded side of the box felt like leaning against an ice-cube. It's shielded away from the sun has kept it at least ten degrees cooler than the air around me, and I soaked up every ounce of the refreshing feeling. My legs had turned to jelly, and I plopped down on the ground with an exhausted thud. My brows furrowed together in fatigue, and sweat dripped from the tip of my nose like a leaky faucet. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my almost empty, crumpled bottle of water, and chugged it down to the last remaining drop. From being in my pocket this whole time, the once cool drink had heated to a gross warm temperature, which did nothing to cool me off.

I didn't want to move anymore...no more running...please.

I tossed my head back and placed it upon the cool metal, gasping over and over. My chest rose and fell with each passing moment, deeply breathing in and out. I was never one to run out of stamina this quickly, but the heat was no help whatsoever. I just wanted to curl up and sleep...

Just thinking of napping felt heavenly...my lids started to feel heavy...and...

Boom!

I was instantly ripped out of my half asleep stupor, and I bolted straight up. The power that rippled through the roads vibrated the mailbox I leaned against on, throwing me off into the ground. I got onto my hands and knees and looked behind me. I saw that the helicopters from before were flying back the way they came. One of the side doors was wide open as somebody was operating large tubes hanging out of the aircraft. They were pouring out a strange yellow liquid that splattered in thick chunks when it hit the streets. The substance smelt very odd and strong once it got caught in the wind. I got to my feet slowly and observed with confusion and curiosity.

What were they doing?

Coming close from behind a few dozen meters apart was a second helicopter. They had a man kneeling out from the side sliding doors, and was holding a very large looking gun. He had it pointed down at the ground, and was aiming it far behind them. When he pulled the trigger, it launched out a large bolt of smoke and fire in the direction of where they came from. I dove back to my knees and covered my ears with a frightened scream as a second large explosion shook the city. This time through, I saw a large mushroom cloud of black smoke rise out of where the shot had hit. Enormous flames engulfed the area. I saw the tips of the flames lick the sky and dance in a fiery passion.

Getting back up upon my knees, my eyes widened as I realized what they were doing.

I saw the copter fly right over head towards me. I hastily jumped back onto my shaking feet, and I ran for my life down the street. Behind, the gunman kept firing round after round at the strange yellow substance and it instantly combusted in a ginormous wall of fire, spreading and following the helicopters trail...

Right towards me!

My fatigue vanished from my system and I was recharged with fear. I sprinted with every bit of energy that fueled me, not stopping or looking back. The heat from the growing, racing conflagration was radiating upon my bare skin through the layer of perspiration. Upon its touch, the moisture was evaporated from my body, flaring its burning heat. The blood rushed to my head and pounded relentlessly, aching and contorting my mind to throbbing mush. I avoided the seeming puddles of the liquid that formed in the cracks and potholes of the road, and pushed my body as far as it would go. My legs and arms protested by creating a fire of their own within my limbs, burning their way through me. I grinded my teeth in pain and cried out to release the building pressure and fear flooding inside me. Behind me from the other side of the block, I could hear the blood curdling screams of horror and agony from the mob of infected people. I didn't dare look back as a handful of walking infernos ran through the alleys and onto my street. They were charred to crisps in my wake, leaving nothing but hunks of cooking, bloody meat.

As I skidded around a corner at the end of the street, I saw that I was at the channel. Following the direction of the flowing water, I saw the enormous orange suspension bridge that had crossed the wide wake of the water.

The Golden Gate Bridge!

My eyes widened and heart was filled with hope. As soon as I saw my ticket out of this, I heard a feminine voice call out my name. "Sarah!"

I skidded to a halt, and looked all around me. There was nobody in sight, but could hear it under the roaring of the flames from the distance. It sounded like...Mom! I called to her. "Mommy, I'm here!"

As soon as I tried to make my way towards her voice, a telephone pole came crashing down upon an abandoned car, exploding in a heap of blue sparks and flames. The surprise explosion sent fear shooting through my veins, and the flying sparks managed to ignite a stray puddle of the yellow substance, making it burst immediately into flames. I jumped back and ran back down the road towards the bridge like a frightened baby deer, completely forgetting the calling voice like it was a dream. The pounding in my ears blocked out all other sounds, and I was running deaf. Down every road I passed, I could see the spreading of the fires, burning down homes and stray people in charring heaps. The smell of death and gasoline stained the air in thick clouds of smoke. Everything I once ever knew was erased from the face of the planet before my eyes, leaving nothing behind.

I made it to the Zone 9 checkpoint, and at the mouth of the colossal bridge. I looked straight ahead, upon my only path available. I eyed the redwood forest across, shrouded in a peaceful, cooling mist. I took in a deep breath, preparing to forget and leave everything behind to burn. Nothing was left.

Taking my only chance to make it out of this massacre alive...I started to run.


	5. Chapter 5

The choppers were flying inbound closer towards the city. With every passing minute that I didn't hold Sarah safely in my arms, the harder my heart would pound in my swollen chest. Over and over I called out her name in strained hoarse yells. My throat burned with dehydration. The air around me was stifling hot, cooking my raw flesh from the inside out with each suffocating breath. Keeping my eyes to the sky and to my ticking watch was excruciating. We were running out of time. Maddy had only given us five small minutes to track down our child in this battlefield, and before the city would be burnt to the ground.

I screamed her name at the top of my lungs. "Sarah!"

My voice bounced off of the abandoned buildings and over the roaring of the dozens of fires, echoing into empty alleyways unanswered. Sweat dripped off of my paling skin continuously, seeping through my shirt making it uncomfortably stick to my body. I looked around and saw my husband leaving no stone unturned, throwing garbage cans and crates all around showing his inner rage. His face was turning to a deep shade of pink. He was tired, overheating, and overworking his body to almost the breaking point. My heart sunk deeply in my chest seeing him like this.

"Sarah, where the hell are you?!" he shouted loudly, overcome by fear.

I could see in his eyes that he was terrified and worried off the deep end for our little girl. Tears threatened to overflow down my cheeks, and my chest ached holding back building sobs. My nose started to run as my emotions started to slip though my fingers. With a quivering lip, I wiped the snot from my face and cried out her name again, and again, and again, dying inside a little bit more when no high-pitched voice screamed back.

We ran up and down every nearby street and through every gosh darn alleyway around town for what felt like an eternity. We were ripping apart Second street down to the cement that held the buildings and roads together. Suddenly, we heard a loud explosion-like sound up ahead. Both me and Peter's heads shot up at the sudden sound. We exchanged looks of shock and confusion quickly before running up to investigate. It didn't sound far at all, and when we turned the corner onto First street, we saw what had caused the abrupt bang with widened, fearful eyes.

Somebody from the other side of the wall had managed to crash a car through the gates of the Zone 7 wall, and the riot of infected people were flooding into the city!

The crowd was staggering like a horde of hungry zombies as they filled the entire street's width from lane to lane. Their blood soaked faces made them look the part effectively, groaning in suffering pain as the virus spread throughout their veins. Our hearts shot up into our throats at the sight, and we dove into a nearby alley, continuing to watch them in hiding. There was no way that we could search this street now. If Sarah did managed to get through here, she must've been long gone by now somewhere on the other side of town. She was a smart, brave, beautiful girl, running as fast as her legs would carry her at the first sight of danger like her life depended on it.

But this time, it just might.

Peter held me to his chest as he peered around the corner as the crowd approached closer and closer to our hiding place. His breath hitched in his throat for a brief moment and his muscles tensed as if he were in pain. I looked up at him concerned. His face was stiff, like he was holding something back. I placed my hand on his chest, feeling his heart gradually quicken in pace. He reopened his eyes at the feel of my touch, and looked down at me. He put on a small smile, assuring me that he was alright. His attention returned to the street as the sound of several groans and coughs becoming closer towards us. I looked around quickly, observing the alley if there was any escape route.

Then, I eyed the manhole cover in the middle of the street.

An idea popped into my head, and I tugged at Peters shirt getting his attention. I pointed over to the cover and ran over to it, kneeling next to it. "Help me get this off!" I called to him.

His face brightened, and he dove to my side. Hooking a finger in one of each of the holes, he lifted with his knees and pulled off the heavy cover with little difficulty. He held his breath as he growled with strain, and once the cover was off and he dropped beside the hole, he broke out into a sudden fit of coughs. I knelt lower to his level so I could look him dead in the eyes. He covered his mouth with his fist and hunched over, each cough seemingly stronger than the last.

"I'm fine, Ellie" he managed to say in between, "throats just a little dry, that's all."

It was a believable reason given the circumstances, but I could feel it in my heart that his words weren't completely genuine. I furrowed my brows warily with a hesitant nod. Something didn't sit right with Peter, and I could feel that he was fighting against something. Maybe it was just the heat frying us from the inside out that was getting to him. Hopefully once we were underground he would feel better. The plan was to navigate through the tunnels. We would sneak through under Zone 7 to the middle of Zone 8. If Sarah did manage to make it through First street before the breach, she would have had to have gone through 8; or maybe she's there now!

I slipped my body down through the hole and climbed quickly down the ladder to the dark, smelly tunnels of the sewers. Once my feet hit the pathway, I moved out of the way as Peter stepped down with me and slid the cover back over just as the crowd was passing by the alleyway. We were in almost complete darkness. We grasped onto each others hands right away to make sure none of us wandered off or slipped into the raw disgusting drink. Feeling my hand along the slimy wet wall as we walked along the path, I felt it run over what felt like a switch. Grasping it and flipping it on, it activated several dozens of lights that flickered along the walls, lighting the entire sewer system. A large smile spread upon my face. Looking up at Peter, who had a hopeful look upon his face as well, we started our smelly spelunking mission.

Overhead, we could hear the muffled marching of the hundreds of infected victims through the ground. Thank god that we made it out of there unseen, I didn't know how else we would have gotten out of there if we were caught. Those people were extremely desperate, and would end up eating each other for survival if the situation became that grim. Killing each other for the tiniest scrap food, sip of sterile water, or even a bottle of pills. The world we once knew was gone, I knew that much. But if we managed to recover...how long would that take?

If mankind manages wait out this virus...would we be forced back into an age that resembled the medieval or stone to rebuild what was lost?

It was a long-shot, but I had a feeling it was a one in ten chance. Like the rate of death tolls, would it be the same for the time to repair and recover? A one in ten chance?

I couldn't make heads or tails of what the future would hold for us, and nobody would ever be able to. I shook my head ridding of the train of through and let out a frustrated sigh. Behind me, I didn't notice that Peter had slipped his hand from my grasp and started to fall behind. His hands were grasping at the walls for support to keep his hunching body from falling. He weakly called out my name, and I turned. My eyes widened in shock at the sight of him. He looked awful. His bright red face had paled dramatically, noticeable sunken pink rings formed around his half-opened eyes, and his breath was shallow and hoarse. He had one hand on the wall, one on his knee to keep him from toppling over like a newborn giraffe.

I rushed to his side, and wrapped the arm he had placed on the wall over my shoulders. He leaned his exhausted body against mine and laid his head on my shoulder. I could feel the tremendous amount of heat radiating from his body; he felt like a furnace. His wide open palms were gleaming with moisture, soon seeping sweat through his arm. He struggled to walk, resulting in a very weak limp. With every minute that ticked by, he would slouch further and add weight to my back. I was almost literally dragging him after a mere seven minutes. He couldn't make the trip to Zone 8, we both knew that now. When I tried to force his body to keep up with my speedy pace, he groaned in pain and breathed out in labored pants. "Ellie, sweetie...yo-you're gonna have t-to...leave me...here..."

My eyes squeezed shut. "Please keep trying Peter, I can't leave you down here in this place!" I protested, "Please!"

Peter shook his head and slipped his arm from my grasp. He staggered to keep his balance to stand up on his own, and ended up colliding his backside with the wall with a pained grunt and hiss through his teeth. I whirled around in surprise and dove to his side, trying to encourage him to stand again. Again and again he refused to get back up. "Ellie, look at me" he weakly said, "I'm in no shape to take another step. You keep going...I...I need a moment to catch my breath."

He closed his eyes and slouched his body against the cool wall of the tunnel, feeling his body almost steam at the touch of it with a relaxed, relieving sigh. He was right. He was exhausted. Letting out a defeated sigh, I leaned down and kissed him softly on his head. "I'll be back with our daughter."

He looked up with a weak, quivering smile. "Bring her back safe."

I could feel my spirit cry at his brittle body. With a shaking smile, I got back up to my feet and continued on alone. It pained me to leave him behind...but what could I do for him now? I left my pack with Dreyfus and Kathy for Dylan, didn't have any medication to bring down Peters fever, and we were out of water. I never thought something like this would happen along the way, who could predict it anyhow? The gentle humming of the lights along with my rushed echoed footsteps were the only thing that didn't leave me in total silence. Through the ceiling, I could hear high in the sky the powerful, muffled beating of rotary blades slicing through the air. But what was unexpected was the multitude of horrified screams directly following after. I looked up towards the sound. With suspicion, I raised my hand, and my palm upon the highest point I could towards the top.

There was a growing heat seeping through.

They were deploying the napalm!

My eyes widened to their max, and I bolted down the tunnel like a bat out of hell. The dying screams of the people above fell behind and silenced in the distance like tortured spirits. Using the tunnels like they were the roads above, I created a mental map of the street system to try and navigate towards Zone 8. Alongside the main pipes however, there were several other sub pipes leading from buildings and stations adding to the maze's complexity. For every few sub pipes, I imagined them as the make up of a block, and followed the street overhead through a main drain. Using this imagery formula in my head, I came across near the end of a pipe a ladder and cover. Climbing up and feeling the ceiling, it was cool, and there was nobody around from the silence.

Pushing up against the heavy iron lid, it grinded against the cement as I shoved it aside. Pulling my body out of the cool underground and into the bright hot surface, I crawled onto the street. Getting my bearings and standing on my feet, I noticed I went right through 8, and was on the borderline of 9. From afar, I could see the colossal Golden Gate Bridge reach out over the bay and into the forbidden Muir Woods. Cars littered the quiet street like grave stones of their drivers all along its highway. A large cloud of eerie fog hung loosely overhead its towers, making it look ghostly, like it wasn't even there.

The monumental bridge was dead to us all.

I looked to the city behind me. Towers of flames and walls of smoke completely blocked out at least a third of the city's eastern buildings, leaving it in ruin and ash. The distant screams before had been silenced far behind me in the sewers, their discarded bodies burning somewhere in the street like trash, surrounded by dozens of others charred and ablazed alike. Time had seemed to slow down in that moment. The roaring of the fires and chopping of several helicopters fell slow on my ringing ears. A gentle, stale wind blew through the anarchy, carrying with it the putrid scent of gasoline and death. It churned sour in my stomach making me want to vomit all over the road. The intense smell of smoke and the burning feeling of the sun upon my skin caused a pounding ache to hammer in my head.

I placed my mask firmly over my face, and called out through the ripping pain of my raw throat. "Sarah!"

I was on the verge of collapse. The smoke spread into the street before the flames and drew out the airs purity, making me dizzy. I wasn't expecting anything to respond to me anymore. I could only hope now that Sarah was safe, somewhere far away from here. My breathing began to come out in shallow, quick pants. I could feel not enough oxygen was reaching my sizzling head. I...I had to lie down...just for a minute.

Feeling my legs wobble and turn to jelly, I lost my balance and crashed on my side. The heat on my skin was extremely painful, but I couldn't motivate my body to get back up; I felt like an egg sizzling in a frying pan. I just didn't have the energy to move anymore. I could feel my eyelids weigh down over my eyes. I was so tired...I...I couldn't even keep them open. My vision went in and out of darkened blurs, twisting and contorting everything around me. I could barely move a finger. Before I was sent completely under, a sudden shadow loomed over me, and I could feel a pair of large, warm hands grasp onto my body as I was hauled up off the ground. Their voices were spoken in distant, jumbled echoes. I couldn't clearly make out what was being spoken, but I was too tired to try to translate the gibberish.

Over all the commotion, the heat, the panicked vibe of everything around me, before everything went completely dark...only one thing made it clearly to my ears...

_"Mommy, I'm here!"_


	6. Chapter 6

Dusk was rapidly approaching. The oncoming storm clouds had taken over a large portion of the sky, rumbling low thunder within. The wind had picked up, whipping leaves all around me. I kept to a dirt road that continued directly from the bridges exit, guiding me towards the mountains. I didn't dare look back at the smoking city I left behind to burn. I hugged my body, shielding myself as best as I could from the wind. My hair flew in the direction of its continuous current, flowing to the right side of my face. The sun was just over the western horizon line, flaring its beautiful arrays of gold and crimson light. My sulking form cast a large, long shadow upon the ground. It stretched out clean over the opposite lane and into the borderline of the grass. Brushing stray strands of hair from my face, I grasped onto my shoulders tightly, feeling the chill of the breeze. The faint scent of sulfur carried on with it, giving off a haunting demeanor. I pulled my mask up to my face, holding it in place. During all the commotion, the elastic had snapped in half. Now, if I wanted to...no...when I _needed_ to wear it, I had to hold it.

With every passing minute, the wind would strengthen, and the growing clouds would loom further towards me. I grasped onto the loose opening flaps of the over-sized jacket I picked up on the bridge, and pulled them in over my body. Looking up from my gaze directed to the ground, there was a sign posted on the side of the road. It caught my curiosity and attention, when in big bold letters read:

"Muir Forest National Monument Park - 2 km"

A forest?

Hearing the closing in thunder rumble more powerful through the sky, I had picked up my pace. A forest would probably be my best bet to avoid the storm. I could see the peaks of the far off mountains ahead, foggy and translucent against the sky. The forest had to begin at its base.

The more time I wasted, it would grow darker and colder. My cheeks were a deep rosy pink, my blue eyes squinting against the harsh gusts of wind, hugging my body, bracing myself against the power behind the storm. Daylight was fading quicker than I thought, disappearing behind the onyx gatherings above. My feet throbbed in pain, making each step more agonizing than the last. I had lost a shoe running on the bridge, not bothering to go back for it. I really wish I did now. Taking a look at my empty water bottle, my throat burned with dehydration. My wheezed breaths came out hot and stale through my clenched teeth. I tilted my head back, my tongue sticking out to its full length, and shook the drained bottle to see if there was at least a drop left. Anything would do!

Surprisingly, I did feel a drop...on my forehead.

My eyes blinked, and I wiped my skin dry.

Then I felt a drop on my shoulder.

Shaking my head perplexed, I looked up at the sky when it finally dawned on me. A loud roll of thunder shook the heavens, and let loose a dam of rainfall. A startled shriek tore through my parched throat, and I started to sprint down the road. My legs felt like they would shatter under my weight once I forced the strain upon them. Each landed stride struck something deep within me, causing me to cry out in pain. I held my arms out over my head to attempt to shelter myself instinctively, all to no avail. The downpour came down hard and heavy, drenching me and the landscape in seconds. Puddles quickly began to form in the ground, soaking my feet and legs when I splashed through them. The dirt makeup of the road was transformed into a mudslide. I slipped and slid every step then after a few minutes of rain. Changing my footing onto the grass was my first instinct, and it was much better than sticking to the road. My shoe-less foot was caked thickly in mud and now covered with grass. I lifted my jacket over my head to act as a more effective umbrella. Suddenly, lightning had decided to join his brother, and lit up the sky with powerful, blinding white bolts.

I was terrified of lightning.

A piercing scream ripped though me, and I doubled my speed. My legs cried out in agonizing protests, but I forced them forward. I could feel salty tears squeeze through my tightly closed eyes, running down my soaking cheeks. The rain pelted down harder and harder. The wind grew colder and stronger. My heart slammed against my trembling chest, painful and unbearable.

Then, my foot snagged upon something, and I crashed onto the ground with a splash without warning. My face was splattered with mud and cold water, drenching my torso. The soaked wool interior of my leather jacket weighed down heavily upon my slumped shoulders. I groaned when I pushed myself up with my elbows, wiping the earth from my face. Looking to see what I tripped over...it was a sign.

A sign that said in big, bold, red letters:

"Keep Out!"

My eyebrows knitted together in confusion. But when I looked up, a bright flash of lightening lit up what the sign was addressing.

"Muir Forest National Monument Park"

My eyes widened as a smile of hope spread across my strained, rosy cheeks. Completely ignoring the warning, I jumped to my feet and dashed into the forest. All I wanted to do was to get out of the rain, I didn't have time to be cautious. My feet squished into the soggy debris of the forest floor, sticking leaves and broken twigs to the bottom of them. I hugged my jacket against my body as I sprinted through the thicket. The once well maintained hiker trail was overgrown with ivy and vines, snagging onto my legs. I had to rip them out from the roots to untangle myself. I could feel my legs grow number and number with each minute. I was first running for my life through a baking wasteland, and now through freezing mud. My big toe that stuck out of a hole in my once white sock was turning a light shade of blue. My eyes widened in fear, and I had to find shelter and fast. If I became crippled in the middle of this forest, no doubt I would look like an easy meal to the many species of predators that thrived here.

The rain had thinned out when I was deep within the woods. I stayed underneath thick patches of canopies as I ran, trying to keep as dry as possible. There were now several slopes and hills hidden in the debris. I slipped onto my tailbone, and went sliding down a good forty-five degree mudslide! I screamed as I tried to grasp at the slippery branches and tree trunks, only grasping strips of bark. I had bounced off a pothole, and into the air. My body lurched forward as I landed, and I started to roll head over heels the rest of the way down with no control! Branches snapped under my weight, loud and frequent like bubble wrap. I stripped the leaves off of bushes and ferns as I passed straight through them. I could feel a multitude of fresh scratches sting my bare legs and face. My tiny body bounced against the ground like a ball, splashing mud and water around me.

Suddenly, I could no longer feel the solid floor beneath me. Feeling a rush of cold wind sweep over my curled up airborne body, I braced myself as I was forced out of the air...and into a dark, wet, freezing environment.

My eyes shut tight...as I was plunged into the flooded river!

I splashed far out into the center of the rapids. My curled body was instantly unraveled with the break neck force of the currents. I was tossed and turned with the furious flow like a rag-doll, head first down the stream. I clenched my painfully tightened stomach with my arms in a protective embrace. My new armadillo curl rolled under the water. I was bounced off of the rocky bed, and I shot back up on an angle, breaking the wild surface.

The sound of the rushing waters was deafening in my ringing ears. The powerful waves swept me roughly side to side, altering my

centered point. I violently started to cough up the water I managed to swallow, re-tasting its swampy flavor. My arms and legs kicked and kept me as balanced as they could, stiff and shivering. I raised my head as high as it could go over the unforgiving rising waters, drawing in all the breath permitted within my constricted lungs. My chest had tightened greatly, bound by the power and pressure of the freezing currents. The dark forest flew past me in a thrashing blur. The canopies roared as the wind howled angrily through their leaves, stripping them and breaking branches. The colossal, sturdy redwoods groaned as their large trunks ever so slightly bent out of shape. The steep slopes that made up the beginning of the valleys had directed the extreme amount of rain runoff straight into the river, raising its level over my head. I kicked and paddled with all of my strength, which was draining quickly with the frigid temperatures. I could feel my lungs and muscles on fire at this point, cramping deep in my stomach and surging even more pain throughout my overworking body.

I was swept with the water around a tightly woven bend, coming into a rock walled gorge. I clawed upon their faces to try to slow my speed; all for nothing. My paling hands only glided over the slicked surface with zero traction. The rivers strength was overwhelming, and I was effortlessly thrown off and back into the middle of the flood. I called out at the top of my burning lungs, hoping that someone, anyone, would hear my desperation. I was once again thrown under, and I inhaled a mouthful of water. My eyes widened as I started to choke on the freezing liquid, and I tried to cough it out of my system. Bubbles shot out from my mouth in a flurry, wasting oxygen. My body flinched and convulsed for brief moments before I felt my backside one again met with the river bed, the sharpened rocks beneath stabbing my fair skin. I ricocheted off the surface, and I floated back up. My arms pushed down upon the water, keeping me afloat. I had washed down a steep ridge while I was under, and was entering some white water rapids.

I let out a scream as I was thrown downwards into a network of falls and whirlpools. I spun around inside the vortexes before being spat out seconds later. I coughed roughly, my hair sticking to my face. I brushed the soaking strands off my skin and back behind my popping red ears. Chills shot up and down my spine like a roller-coaster ride. One after another made my body convulse with the combined temperatures. A series of thunder and lightning deafened and blinded me just before I was forced under once more. My ears rang with a high-pitched whine, popping painfully with the pressure.

I didn't know what to do. My mind went into a wave of panic. Running on full-out fear, I did the first thing my six-year-old mind told me to do once I bobbed back to the surface.

"Mommy, help!"

* * *

I was wide awake. The constant splattering of heavy rain outside my doorway, combined with the frequent rolling and clapping of thunder, had thrown me into a rather fitful and restless slumber. I grumbled with annoyance as I sat up in my neatly constructed nest, rubbing my drooping lids with my large black hand. Rocks and crust had formed in the corners of my tiny green eyes, and I dug them out with ease. Standing up crouched over, I slowly waltzed over to my doorway. The water had dripped in solid gatherings, spraying themselves everywhere upon the rock floor with the wind. The splatter recoils spewed upon my long, hair arm, dampening my red matted fur. I ignored the new wet feeling.

Looking out from my high perched home, I had a perfect scenic view of the village. The downpour was collecting into a center pit, filling the area with fresh, cool drinking water. The surrounding rock walls were being modified with perimeter catwalks, using tree trunks and fallen logs. Dozens of ape homes, much like my own, were constructed along the ridges of the mountains face; both within and outside the village walls. The fires had long been doused with the rain, leaving soaking charred remains to be washed away. The arched entryway of the square was almost near completion, with nests of our gorilla brothers spread around, guarding it and protecting us. A bright flash of white light lit up the darkness with a crack of thunder, casting clear shadows upon everything. The startled shrieks of young apes could easily be heard from multiple nests, frightened of mother natures life-giving wrath. A small frown came upon my pouting, thick lip.

After several years now...we've settled here upon a summit. We migrated far, through overlapping forests, and over the valley hills, discovering hidden mountain ridges and slopes that could easily hold a growing troop. Humans have ever so since tried to hunt us down throughout the time, tracking and tricking with their flying cages and thundering firearms, but their arrogance towards our heightened intelligence was our advantage in the end. We withheld against starvation and braved the harsh elements before this sheltering crevice. The wild apes that we rescued offered us their knowledge of the wild, how to hunt and forage for food. Caesar repaid them with acceptance and strengthened intelligence.

And a handful of springs later, with what came with this peaceful time and new-found home...was the confident arrival of the mating season. Several families of apes have been developed since then; including the new arrival of a prince only two seasons ago.

Yes, I was there. The day that our revolutionary leader, and my good friend Cornelia, dawned upon our tribe with a son. They named him after a unique characteristic rarely ever seen in any ape species. And when he first opened them, they took everyone's breath away at the pureness, and intense boldness they possessed.

Blue Eyes.

Also, following a few short weeks after his birth, Rocket came shrieking out of his home with great excitement. I remembered how he galloped and somersaulted all round the village with joy, earning shocked and strange perplexed looks from everybody. Only when he exclaimed at the top of the east stage with energetic signs and hoots that he was a father did they understand. The village joined him in his celebration, and he brought his newborn son out with his mate a few days later to present him openly to everyone. His glossy baby fur was silky and soft to the touch, and held an ashy black tone about it.

Thus naming him, Ash.

Blue Eyes and him were introduced that day, and although they were hesitant about one another, they became great and close friends in a very short period of time. It warmed my heavy heart to see such innocent play. There was a great celebration for both new additions to our one big family. Dancing and drumming, raising a large bonfire and a large feast was laid out.

As long as their parents weren't too far off, they would spend almost every waking hour of the day together. They grew to be energetic and playful spirits, never slowing down. I embraced the days when their fathers would go out on hunting trips, and they would leave them in my care for the day. Their mates didn't typically mind either, but only returning from a little unwinding time to feed their hungry little angles.

I would play and educate them the ways of our sign language, along with the other children of our village upon the stage of the square, during what the humans would call "schooling." I enjoyed schooling the young. It filled me with a sense of responsibility and respect knowing I was trusted by the dozens of families with their pride and joys. Also, it made me feel closer at heart with them, that I was contributing to the community.

I let out a content sigh through my nostrils, bubbling gently deep in my throat sac. Looking down into an opened doorway of a young chimp and mother, I saw how they snuggled up in one another's arms.

A small sense of envy weighed down upon my heart, looming over my head like a storm cloud.

It was also times where I spent time with the children...was when I mostly felt like a father.

We had picked up very few female orangutans during our escape from the city. For the first season, either none of them seemed particularly interested in me, or I wasn't at all skilled in our species demonstration of attraction. Being with the human circus all my life, until I was sent to the ape sanctuary, I was never taught the techniques and tricks of how to attract a mate. And being the only orangutan in both habitats, I grew up without any skills.

Also, I didn't understand why, but the females would always try to steal food from me! Every year, it would be the same thing. I caught on and had to think quick and snatch it away from their reach when the thievery became more frequent. Every time when it didn't go their way, they would shriek and throw a fit as if I'm the bad guy. I was always taught that if you wanted something, you were to ask for it, such was my life under the big-top. After a few days of giving up on me, they were more successful with the other males. Some were reluctant to surrender their bounty, others offered it to them with an open palm every time.

It perplexed me. Seeing these were my first few courtship experiences, I took note of what to do, and what not to do. By imitating what I witnessed the other experienced orangutans had done, I almost had luck with a beautiful female named Daisy the last mating season. But, I wasn't her only bachelor. One of the big things that if one female was caught between two male interests, it grew very physical and violent. I was provoked by a younger male named Henry for the right to mate. I was growing old, my long tangled beard was starting to dull. I knew that I wasn't going to last very long, so I backed away once he started pounding the ground and charging at me.

I grunted with frustration, lightly pounding my fist upon the cold stone floor. I have always been a lover, not a fighter. The only time I recently had to be part of any combat was with Caesar and getting across the bridge. I was fighting against humans, and I only ever saw their bad side, feeling no sympathy when they managed to fall under us. Being kept locked in cages was how I mostly spent my time, only to be released for training or exercise to entertain hundreds of other humans. The only good parts of training was when I would be good and do the tricks correctly, and I would earn a tasty treat. When I failed however...they struck me with whips and discouraged me with harmful words. I couldn't understand them all, but I only needed a few to know what he meant:

_"Stupid!"_

_"Dumb!"_

_"Worthless!"_

When I was transferred to San Bruno, I was free of the whippings, but it wasn't any better than that. I was fed and given exercise, and I wasn't abused physically. But our keeper, Dodge, was hurtful. He only considered us the same.

_"Stupid monkeys!"_

Noticing that the thunder was growing more distant and quiet, I decided to retire back to my nest. Shaking off the water that managed to soak into my long, crimson fur, I took a seat upon the soft green leaves. I let out a sulking sign, lightly rubbing my eye as a tingling tear was making itself known. Just as I was lying my tired body down...a sudden, alien scream sounded through the heavy rain.

Perking my head up in surprise, I returned with haste to the doorway. Looking around the village square, there was nobody outside. Looking up into the colossal tree that stood tall to my right, there was no activity within it. Peering out over the wall, staring out into the pitch-black forest with my eyes wide open, I studied the valleys. They were dead silent aside from the rustling of the forest canopies.

What was that?


	7. Chapter 7

I was so cold.

A chilling breeze swept over my soaking, shivering body. The gradual intense pain of a head ache started to grow within me. I let out a shallow groan, feeling it pound my skull. As soon as my mind was awake, I could feel a hot, scratchy feeling in the back of my throat. As I started to move my numbed limbs, I started to feel the full on effects of my trip down the river.

My body lurched as hot, stale coughs started to rack through me. I raised my trembling body up onto my hands and knees, forcing air though my swelled, searing pipes. My eyes slowly opened to the sight of a cloudy, grey beach. I turned my head to the sound of calm running water, and I desperately crawled over to it. My hands clawed trough the loose sand, and I scooped up handfuls after handfuls of water into my mouth. My throat burned with the coolness, but I forced it down into my shriveled up stomach. I could feel the pounding in my head subside, and substitute with a cringing ache.

After I had had my fill, I wiped my lips dry with my sleeve with a sigh of relief. The jacket felt like a ton upon my slumped shoulders. Slipping it off my body, I could instantly see why it was so heavy. Water dripped from inside onto the ground, splattering upon my feet. Looking down, it seemed that I had lost my other shoe in the rapids sometime during the frightening ride. My socks were drenched, and I could feel the wrinkled, pruned skin of my feet rub against the fabric. Taking both of them off, I rang them out dry. Drips of water stained the pebbles beneath, leaving dark spots. Slipping them back over my throbbing soles, I turned m attention to the coat. Seeing a fallen tree behind me, I stumbled over to it. Hanging the jacket over one of its lower branches, I started to twist its body. The amount of water the wool had managed to absorb was astounding! Water came gushing out of the interior like it was being poured from a juice pitcher! I jumped back startled, the grey sand underneath puddling with bubbled mud. Continuing to squeeze from a further distance, the rest came till I could get nothing major out. Stepping around the deep puddles, I ran my hand along the inside. The wool was still damp, but it was tolerable.

Slipping the slimy wind-breaker back over my chilled body, I held the loose openings over my chest. I stuck my quivering hands into my pockets. To my disappointment, I no longer felt the round plastic body of my water bottle in either. Drat!

But, with my 'laundry' session, I felt an odd bulge within it. Feeling inside near my torso, I saw that there were inside pockets I hadn't noticed! Opening one of the zippers, I reached in with two fingers. My eyes widened when I felt something. Taking it between my index and middle fingers, my eyes widened in awe.

I pulled out a pocket knife! Dad had always told me that if I found anything that could be useful, keep it on you just in case. This would really come in handy!

Putting it back safely in the same pocket, I zipped it up good and tight. Now taking a good, long look of my surroundings, I had to decide on which way to go. If I walked back upriver, I would probably make it back to the Muir Woods gate. But if I did, I would probably just be back where I started, getting nowhere. And with the city gone, there was no real reason for me to go back. If I went through the forest, I probably would just get insanely lost and look like an easy target for bears or something. But...if I didn't take the risk, what good would following the river do?

I let out a distressed sigh. Taking a few agonizingly long minutes to debate of which way to travel...I decided to go back upstream. It was the only straight forward sense of direction I could've depicted at the moment. Who knew, maybe I would be able to find a group if they fled the city when I did.

Flicking my hair out from beneath my collar, I started my journey

* * *

Meanwhile, in the far inner reaches of the redwoods, a quiet village stood. Its inhabitants slept like rocks having being kept up most of the night from the storm. The sun was just starting to rise over the eastern valley hills, bathing the square in a warm, orange glow. Keeping silent as a mouse, a shadowed silhouette had successfully snuck out of their hut, and scurried across the entirety of the village. Coming to the base, they started climbing up the large, spiraled ramp that lead to the canopy of the great tree. Parting the animal pelt that covered the doorway, they snuck into the room where their friend lied, sleeping soundly in his woven nest.

He silently sauntered over, and nudged the young chimps shoulder. The slumbering child emitted a small whine of protest before curling back up into himself.

With quiet encouraging hoots, he did it again.

This time, reluctantly, the child awoke. Fluttering his uniquely hued eyes, he let out a long yawn. Turning his head with drooping lids, they instantly widened to see who disturbed his rest.

_"Ash?! What you doing here?" _he signed.

Ash swiftly looked over to the other side of the room, where his king and queen laid resting, completely oblivious to his intrusion. Turning back to his friend, he gently tugged on his arm. _"Blue Eyes, follow Ash." _

Now wide awake, he checked to see that his parents were out like a light. Slowly creeping out of his nest, he hesitantly followed his curious friend outside. On the way back down the ramp, he continued to sign, asking where he was taking him. Ash continued to put him off, not telling until they got to their destination. Blue Eyes had an uncertain feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. Frequently turning his head from hut to hut, he saw that the entire village was sleeping. Keeping as quiet as they could, Ash led them to the south quadrant of the square.

Right in front of the main gate.

Blue Eyes looked to his friend questionably, who had a mischievous gleam in his eyes. Ash peered into the nests surrounding the archway. Stone and the rest of the gorilla guards were completely out as well.

An operatunitive smirk spread upon his snout, and he slowly stalked past the multitude of nesting warriors. Blue Eyes could only stare at Ash in disbelief, and he raised his hands steadily. _"Where are you going?" _

_"We go exploring!" _the young chimp replied enthusiastically.

Blue Eyes didn't feel right about this, and he took a nervous step back. Ash let out a low begging whine, and he hopped around in place, using his head to nod him in. _"We not be gone for long. Parents never know we leave!"_

A feeling of temptation tugged at his chest with his friends words. His cloudy hues darted across the ground, thinking over if this was right. They have always been curious of what lied on the other side of their village walls, but were always told the same thing:

_Wait until you're older._

Ash on the other side of the wall scoffed at his friends pause. _"Blue Eyes don't come if he do not want to. Unless...he a coward!"_

Seeing those signs, he let out an offended snort. A prince isn't scared of anything! Needing no further persuasion, the naïve minded child galloped swiftly and silently through the archway. Ash was overjoyed with his decision, and the duo gave chase into the thicket, disappearing without a trace.

* * *

I followed Ash into the bushes, my caution and uncertainty completely derived from my system at this point. We kept to a trail that started not too far off from the village's exit. As soon as we came wrestling out of the brush...I couldn't believe my eyes.

This world...it was...so big!

Hundreds of trees towered over top of us like mountains! It was so open and wide, much more desirable than the cramped square. The beautiful sounds of insects and singing birds overhead filled my ears, enchanting me with their song. I stood upon my hind legs and gave in a big whiff of the air. The heavy scent of rain lingered around us, giving off amplified smells of the plants and animals that thrived here. The feeling of the ground beneath us felt soggy, and smelt strongly of earth and pine. A cool, calm breeze swept through our fur, making me close my eyes in delight. It felt so nice.

Father always said not to go outside, that it was dangerous to be alone out here...but what could possibly be so scary and threatening in a beautiful, peaceful place like this. And I wasn't alone; I had Ash at my side. I could tell from the bright look in his dark eyes, and the goofy smile upon his face, that he was just as excited as me.

I playfully nudged his shoulder, earning one back in return with hooting laughter.

We came across a fallen log a few minutes into our walk, and Ash instantly jumped upon it, waving his arms in the air. _"I'm Caesar! I protect family and rule forest!" _He signed with joyful, protruded lips.

I rolled my eyes at his silly interpretation of my father, and playfully shoved him off. He let out a startled shriek when he no longer felt the damp bark beneath his feet, and he went tumbling down the small slope. I pointed a finger at him, and pant-hooted in amusement. Pine needles and leaves stuck to his fur coat, and made him resemble a camouflaged hunter. Ash shook his body violently, managing to shake off the leaves from his head and shoulders. Using his hand, he brushed the rest of himself clean. Turning his spiteful gaze back up the hill, he saw me laughing to his expense.

Taking me totally off guard, I never even heard him as he charged back up the hill, and had pulled me down from my perch. We went rolling down head over heels together. The rotting leaves and forest debris flew up all around us as we shrieked with laughter. We held onto each others as we went tumbling down the slope like a ball. The soggy ground cushioned our impacts with each bounce and only added to our entertainment.

Once we finally came to rest at the base of the hill, we were drunk with joy. We swayed back and forth dizzy as our minds took in everything that just happened. My stomach felt queasy and my eyes clouded over with black spots. I accidentally stumbled over Ash, who was still picking himself off the ground, falling flat on my back. He shook my legs off of him and gathered his bearings. Clearing his still hazy head, he looked towards me.

_"Blue Eyes OK?"_ he signed.

I slowly turned my head to him, and I nodded with a toothy smile. _"That fun!"_

He reached down and interlocked his arm around mine, hauling me back up onto my feet. I grasped onto his shoulder briefly to regain my balance. I was still sporting a joyful grin, chuckling along with Ash. Why would our fathers want to keep this whole world hidden away from us? We were having the time of our lives, and we've only scratched the surface of what wonders this forest held.

Then, in the corner of my eye, something bright and blue contrasted against the shadowed foliage. Letting out a curious hoot, I slowly walked through the ferns. It was my turn to lead, and Ash followed right behind. Our eyes widened in awe as we came into the presence of an angelic, shimmering creature. It was small, like it could perch comfortably in the palm of your hand. It had gentle fluttering wings that looked soft to touch, gleaming in the rising sunlight. Its bright blue glow seemed hypnotizing, drawing both of us in.

_"What's that?" _Ash signed to me.

I shook my head. _"I don't know." _

Our eyes never strayed from its alien beauty. It had wings like a bird, but the body of a plump twig. It didn't sing like a bird, or chirp like a cricket. It didn't have a tail, like us, but was naked of fur, or scales, or feathers. It was something completely new to us.

As soon as Ash raised a slow, steady finger up towards it, its wings started to flap, and it fluttered into the air. Our excited childish minds were blown away. Our eyes were mesmerized by its grace and elegant nature. When I tried to reach for it this time, it dodged my open palm, and took off higher into the breeze. We let out disappointing hoots, but we saw it rest upon a branch once again not too far off from us. I galloped over towards it, slowing my pace the closer I got. Gently placing a petite finger by its body, it took off again. Ash let out amused pant-hoots with a wide smile. I looked back to him, exchanging similar looks. But when I turned back, it was a good fifteen feet away from us.

Crying out alarmed, we both took off through the rich leaf mold, following it deeper and deeper into the wood. Our eager curious minds, completely hypnotized by this strange creatures beauty...led us far off the trail...

And into uncharted territory.


	8. Chapter 8

I was soundly sleeping in my warm, soft nest. Completely exhausted tolerating the aftermath of the storm, and contemplating the mysterious cry during the night. I was still puzzled, but in reality, it probably didn't really mean anything. I've heard bobcats squall in the past, whether fighting or mating, they emitted very similar sounds either way. There was nothing odd in the village, and nobody was affected by it. I probably wasn't the only one who heard it last night, maybe somebody would have some sort of different insight regarding its nature.

Letting out a soothing sigh through my nostrils, I snuggled against my arm into my body heat.

But suddenly, a loud, startling shriek screamed from outside!

Snapping my jaded eyes wide open, I instantly shot up from my nest to the sight of several apes flooding from their homes into the square. Quickly pulling my body to the door, I took in the unsettling scene. Their eyes darted around nervously, as if somebody claimed an ape body was found. Disturbed hoots and perplexed cries sang out in the growing crowd. Using my birds-eye-view of the village, I could see no signs of a predator, such as a grizzly or cougar, make its visit known. There was no bloody paw prints, no property destruction, and everybody was alive and accounted for. Yet still, they were worried about something.

What was going on?!

Hearing a second, feminine shriek call out, all eyes and ears were shifted and focused upon the great tree's canopy. A shadowed form darted around the inside of the branches from my angle, practically tearing apart their home. Loud bangs and rips sounded from within, and all while rushed footsteps padded back and forth. Grunts and snarls raged from their mouths, growing more intense the further he proceeded to ransack his own dwellings. It unnerved me. Suddenly, their actions went still and silent. I could see their chest rise and fall with heavy breaths, their head darting one last time around their room. Nothing further came from inside, and he seemed to be calming down. I let out a curious grumble, leaning my body further out to make out who exactly was trashing our leaders home.

Abruptly and without warning, a third shriek cried out from the other side of the square. My eyes were ripped away from the tree, and peered into the small cluster of huts by the communal pond. Small whimper's could be faintly heard in the dimming silence, and a couple was in a heartbroken embrace. I could see Jasmine, Rockets mate, huddle up against her husband with clear streams of tears drip down her face. Rocket had a similar shocked expression upon his face, his brow ridge creased nervously with a tightly clenched jaw.

Then, from inside the tree, the agitated shadow rushed out of his chambers, and into the revealing light of the sun upon his balcony.

Caesar, who looked as if he had seen a ghost, hollered out a desperate, raspy yell. "Blue Eyes!"

Everybody's heads turned right back around, staring upon their shaking leader. Series of nervous hoots and gasps grew in the crowd, fidgeting unnerved. His voice carried out far, bouncing off of the river gorge and valley hills. The unnatural fear that stained his tone brought with it a thick veil of tension that could've been sliced with a knife over the colony.

Our prince was missing!?

Rocket, hearing the call of his awoken leader, shoved himself through the troop, and leaped upon the insignified platform. He hooted loudly over the growing noise, and waved his arm grasping Caesars attention. Wasting no time once his green eyes turned to him, he stood upon his hind legs.

_"Ash is gone!" _he swiftly signed.

My eyes widened. Both of my nephews were gone?! Feeling a wave of panic wash over me, I refused to lose all sense like the rest outside. Keeping a calm demeanor, I took a second to think. As I put two and two together, a very probable possibility flickered behind my eyes. Hauling my three-hundred pound body from my perch, I scaled the slope to the floor of the stage. Bellowing out an attentive howl, I signed my hypothesis once all eyes turned to me.

_"They must be together!" _

Caesar turned his head as he heard soft sobbing behind him. Cornelia gently parted the pelt curtain from the doorway, and approached her mate with a leaf in one of her hands. She held it up close to her body, brushing its soft texture against her tear-stained face like it was a security blanket. Caesar's eyes saddened, lowering his tensed shoulders upon seeing his mate's emotional state. He sauntered over to her, gently pulling her into a loving embrace with a distressed sigh. Her shoulders quivered with sobs, crying into her husbands broad, furry chest. The leaf she clutched to her body smelled strongly of their son, only bringing with it more motherly worry.

From behind, the swift sound of galloping against wood sounded to their left. A chimp who bared many, many gruesome scars across his face and body propelled himself up upon all fours and approached before them, his mix-matched eyes full of concern.

_"What's wrong, Caesar?" _he signed.

Caesar drew in a shallow, sharp breath before turning to the ape. "Koba" he gruffed out. Gently taking the leaf from his broken wife, he held it out to his friend. "Blue Eyes...missing."

Koba's milky and emerald eyes widened in disbelief. Gently taking the leaf from his leader's hand with subtle permission, he stroked its smooth texture. Giving a once over on both sides, he in a slow smell. Taking the time to analyze the quality and strength of the scent, he also caught a second familiar whiff. Looking up from the bedding, he locked eyes with Caesar. _"Not gone long. Koba believe's he left before sun rise over those hills." _

Looking over to where Koba was pointing, he saw what he meant. The bright morning star was just a head over the summit curve. So it was fairly recent, but being as energetic as his son was, he could've probably managed to wander off twice the distance of a slower paced ape.

Turning back to his brother when he felt his fingers brush his shoulder for attention, he continued his conclusion.

_"But Blue Eyes isn't alone" _he reassured,_ "Ash was here, in your chambers."_

Rocket, who had seen the whole thing from below, bellowed up upon noticing his son's name mentioned. _"Ash?!" _

Koba looked down upon his worried brother, nodding with a confirming grunt. Turning back to Caesar and his mate, he devised a plan. _"If apes leave now, we find trail. Track son's like apes do with prey."_

Upon the idea, the whole village started to hoot and shriek in agreement.

Caesar, taking a moment to think, he raised his hand over his tribe, silencing them in seconds. Waltzing up to the front of his balcony, he started to sign. _"Need all trackers and hunters by front gate! Arm yourselves with spear's, and meet Caesar outside!" _

The crowd started to thin out as soon as his orders were given. Koba had scurried down the ramp to his hut, where he reemerged with his long ceder staff. Rocket bid his mate a brief kiss and hug farewell, reassuring that he would find their son. Along with them, several other chimpanzee's and bonobo's had gathered in an armed, black patch in the south quadrant. Just as Caesar descended the spiraling stairway with his weapon, I pulled him aside.

_"Take me with you. Let me help!"_

His expression slightly changed, as if the request surprised him. It's true that I'm not a great tracker, and was certainly no hunter...but I am an expert climber! His lips pursed as he quickly thought it over. Discouraged at his hesitation, I bubbled within my throat sac provocatively . _"Maurice swing through trees. Find them from above!"_

Although sightly convinced, he still remained silent for several more moments. Gathering up my strength, I had to put the cherry on top. _"Blue Eyes and Ash like sons to me." _

Stricken with my confession, he lifted his lowered gaze. With an honored gleam in his eyes, he gave a curt nod. My eyes lit up, and I extended my hand bowing my head with deep gratitude. He gently stroked my open palm with his fingers, and I followed him out. Gathering his search party together, he started to divide the forest amongst everyone.

* * *

The tiny animal had led us out of the thicket, and onto a grassy overlook. The atmosphere had brightened once we breached the shaded treeline, and the world seemed to open up before our eyes! Without the constant cluster of trees to limit our perception, the land had expanded at least ten times as big! A huge stream of water was flowing through the ground, carrying fallen leaves and twig debris within it. This must've been the river I see from my nest window!

Once my wide, wandering eyes returned their focus to the blue beauty, its exhausted body had settled upon a dandelion. While Ash found something within a nearby log interesting, I had finally cornered my prey. Feeling that something was missing, I stopped in my tracks to think.

If I'm hunting...what am I forgetting?

Then, it hit me!

Looking around briefly, I saw a small stick within the tall grass. Holding it tightly in my hand, I crouched down. Imagining this twig was a long, sharp spear, I stalked up to the unsuspecting animal. Uncle Koba showed me his collection of weapons one time Father brought me to visit, and put on a great show on how to wield, stance, and attack when hunting. He told me when I grew big and strong, he would teach me everything he knew how to be a great hunter. His lessons of stalking echoed in my mind.

_"First, slow breathing and relax."_

Taking in a deep breath, I released it through my nostrils slow and shallowly. Feeling my tensed muscles loosen up, I thought back to his second set of instructions.

_"Keep weapon close to you with a tight grip, and make yourself invisible."_

Holding my 'spear' firmly in my tiny hand, I crawled upon my belly into the tall grass. Never taking my eyes off the creäture, my mind relapsed back to the final stage.

_"Once you're close enough, rush in and strike with all your strength!"_

A feeling of excitement bubbled up within me, but I remained calm and kept my serious composure. Slowly raising the stick up, I parted the grass with the tip, slinking through with gentle rustles. Checking my footing so I didn't make a sound, I took in a deep preparing breath. Inching closer and closer, the unsuspecting creature had its back foolishly turned to me. I imagined it as one of the terrifying monsters of Koba's hunting stories.

I think he called it...a bear?

They weighed as much as a gorilla, and could stand taller than three chimps standing upon their shoulders! He told me that they were ferocious and powerful predators, capable of killing an ape in a single blow! The thought of something real that big sent a dry feeling in my throat, and I swallowed nervously.

Shaking my head, I focused. This thing wasn't even close to the rankings of a bear, and it would be my first trophy as a hunter! I wouldn't need to grow up like Koba said!

Once I brought this back as proof, they could bring me with them on hunting trips seeing I was experienced!

Crawling closer and closer through the cover, I was a mere two meter's behind it. Holding the stick close to my chest, I drew in another preparing breath...and charged!

I let out a battle cry as I aimed my makeshift spear at it. It spooked at my bellowing voice, and took off again in the air. Ash whirled slightly startled by my call, and watched me as I made my finishing move. Not about to let it get away, I leapt off into the air. Ash's eyes widened as I flew up a good four feet. Time seemed to slow down as my blood rushed powerfully through my veins. I waved my spear around, trying to get a good stab or whack at it. It ascended into the breeze, and was far out of my reach. A disappointed frown sunk into my face...but the lost prey was quickly forgotten.

A rush of cool wind shot up from the ground...which my feet failed to meet with once again. My body leaned backwards, and I went falling back-first. My grip loosened on my pretend spear as reached out towards the sky, hoping something would catch me.

Letting out a shriek, I was plunged into freezing darkness with a splash!

* * *

I parted away a branch blocking my path. I had been walking for at least half an hour now. My shoeless feet were soggy and mucky from the marshy shoreline. The grey sanded beach had parted off into a rocky bank. Rocks the sizes of soft balls and coins filled a second kind of beach, aching my feet stumbling over them. Bugs scurried beneath, hiding in between cracks upon seeing my shadow cast over them. King fishers and grey herons took flight hearing my clumsy staggering, appearing out of no where from within forests of cattail's. Upon my traveling, I also came across a fishing raccoon that was perched safely on a fallen log reaching into the water. It had a premature salmon flopping around in its jaws before it settled down and it ripped its scaly body apart. I cringed at the familiar sight of more blood, and looked away.

Those haunting faces flashed within my mind.

I shook my head, trying to rid myself of those images. Embracing my body, I felt the rich leather crinkle upon my elbows and armpits. The damp feeling of the wool had warmed to my body temperature, making it feel like I was lightly sweating.

The whole trip so far was comfortably quite. Other than the sound of the rushing water or the songbirds thriving in the trees, it was pretty peaceful out here. Breathing in a deep sigh, I took in the unique scent of the environment. The rain covered forests smelled richly of earth and leaf mold. The river gave off a whiff of the icy glacier runoff's it carried, following close behind it the summit winds. Releasing it through my nose relaxed my muscles and left a soothing feeling spread through my body. I could feel the suns warmth strengthen as it rose higher into the sky. Checking its height, I guessed it to be sometime around seven or eight AM. Raising my arms out over my head, I let out a groan as I stretched my tired limbs, feeling a satisfying pop straighten my spine. Swinging them at my sides as they came back down, I let out a long yawn. I wasn't used to being up this early; the storm must've kept me up close to midnight with its wild ride.

After about another kilometer or two across the shores, I could feel the gradual growing of stomach pains blossom in my gut. Feeling my hand upon its surface, it vibrated with a hungry growl. It was then that I realized I hadn't had anything to eat since yesterdays breakfast! A small scoff of a laugh blew threw my parted lips, and it grumbled yet again. Upon remembering the raccoon, my appetite was far from agreeing with raw meat.

However, my wandering eye's did come across a second edible supplement.

Growing upon the edge of the tree line, a large fallen log was rotting upon the bank of the beach. Its mossy surface was polka dotted with dozens of tiny little brown and white bulbs. Not only did they look similar to the ones Mom used to put in our salads, but there was enough to make my stomach burst!

Mushrooms!

My sapphire eyes widened with wonder. I felt like I was dreaming! Its been so long since I tasted the sweet, bitter delicacy. With no grocery trucks, we were devoid of perishable imports, including mushrooms. And those that remained upon store shelves, they either rotted away, or were stolen in a ransack robbery. Practically diving on my knees before it, I plucked the tallest, fattest one I could find. Savoring the moment, I plopped it into my welcoming mouth. Once my teeth punctured the skin, its chewy filling filled my cheeks like a chipmunks.

I blinked. They tasted kinda funny. It was similar to the kind Mom used...but maybe that was just because they were grown in a farm, and these are wild. It had to be something with the soil or conditions that change the flavors. That had to be it. Shrugging off the odd flavouring, I happily plopped a second into my mouth.

I moaned out loud.

The tiny umbrellas were gulped down into my stomach, and the annoying growling subsided. Leaning against the fungus covered trunk, I ate one mushroom after another on auto pilot. Each was more savoring than the last as soon as I got over the taste. But after about fifteen or so, I lost count, I started to feel a little dizzy. The colors around me started to twist and meld together in a single washed blob. Squinting and blinking repeatedly, I shook my head in quick spurts. When I tried to shift my position, my motions were sloppy and went limp. A small knot formed in my stomach, and I started to feel sick. Looking down weakly at the fruit in my hand, I nonchalantly tossed it over my shoulder into the bushes with a grunt.

Maybe I ate a little too much...

I felt relaxed, and mellowed out upon the grey sanded shore.

May-Maybe...a little sleep...would do me...

* * *

Uh Oh, I guess somebody should've warned Sarah about the Psilocybin Mushrooms (Magic Mushroom's)


	9. Chapter 9

I was instantly dragged underwater, and was forced down through the harsh currents. My body froze in shock, and I made no immediate attempt to fight off what couldn't be stopped. The water was as dark as the blackest of nights, cold and unforgiving like the winter winds. The sudden power against my body felt like I was being kicked repeatedly in the stomach, tumbling around like I was shoved again down that hill, but with excessive force I couldn't handle. I was knocked breathless and near unconscious. My mouth was wide open, instinctively screaming out in fear and pain. Never before this have I ever encountered my head submerged in water, so I couldn't see the consequences behind this deadly, foolish act. A flurry of bubbles clouded my vision and brushed all over my chest and face. My chest heaved and constricted tightly now empty, aching my lungs. My lips grew numb and a deep shade of red. The tingling cold spread out through my lower body, stinging my toes and fingers. My thin fur did absolutely nothing to keep my skin warm, and the water-soaked right in. Only when my brain demanded a replenish of air did the icy pain reach its peak. My eyes shot open, stinging with the cold, and I looked to the distant, filtering sunlight. The dimmed rays looked far away from where I floated. I was somersaulted and log-rolled several times before I gained the leverage of my limbs to swim.

I unraveled my curled form, and I clawed desperately towards the surface. My head broke through, and I was hit with a chilling breeze right in my face. I inhaled sharply, filling my shriveled lungs with a thousand pricking needles. I called out to Ash, screaming for his help.

Through the fog of my vision, I could make out his blurred, black splotch of a body. He had leapt down from the overhang, and was charging across the rocky beach. My ringing ears made out his terrified shrieks, making him sound echoed and far away. I could feel my energy be drained from my arms and legs as I tried with all my might to stay above the cruel waves, feeling my body sink under by some unknown anchor. They splashed around, slapping painfully against the surface. My toes curled repeatedly, tension and panic surging through my veins. The fur on my head matted, soaking in the freezing touch and immortalizing its chill upon my scalp. The cold was so intense it felt like it was burning.

My pained screams reached my brothers alerted ears, fueling his determination and doubling his speed. The uneven terrain faltered his footing, stealing his balance and near spraining his appendages. His eyes never left mine, keeping me focused and assured that I wasn't alone. Again and again I called to him, or to anybody, to save me from this death trap. With all his might, he tried to keep up with the swift currents. In comparison, he dwarfed against the river. But I could see in his eyes that that wouldn't stop him. His hairy arm was half reached out towards me. I could also see that he was hesitant and cautious about his timing. If he did it too early or fast, no doubt that with his speed and off-balanced state, he would crash-land into the rocks and be put out of commission long enough for me to wash away completely out of his reach.

But he had to try.

The tension was killing us both, and my agonizing screams wasn't making anything easier either. But I couldn't hold them back; this was far too much for my young mind and body to handle without a fuss.

A rapid forced me under once again, and I was enveloped over my head. My wide opened mouth took in all the water it could without warning, and filled my nose and throat. My eyes squeezed shut in pain, and a violent cough shot through me. A second flurry of bubbles surrounded my face, leaving me to submit to defeat. I was rushed through white waters, sucked down and under further in waterfalls and whirlpool vortexes so far that light barely penetrated the surface. I was trapped in a terrifying, dark, freezing twister.

I knew it wasn't a good idea to leave the village.

I knew what we were doing was wrong.

And I now knew what father was saying how unpredictable and dangerous this seemingly harmless place could be.

And the only one's to blame for all this was ourselves.

I was left breathless and exhausted. My mind wandered off into a dream-like state, making images form in the cloudy shadows. The light above me fluttered around my eyes and the rocky bed beneath me, letting a haunting warmth spread throughout my body. I couldn't make out what was real or fiction anymore, letting my hollow husk of a body drift away from the pain. I found that if I didn't fight, the freezing temperature eased its way into a soothing embrace. I completely ignored the feeling of my lungs burning, ready to burst, letting my nerves numb to everything around me.

Just floating away, going with the flow...it was relaxing.

Feeling serene take over...I allowed my eyes to droop close...

Just as I braced for the frightening feeling of cold, hard stone to be my resting place...

I drifted off into darkness.

* * *

_The solitude comfort of my thick lined sheets embraced the curled up form of my body. A gentle flittering ray of sunshine flowed in from the window to my right. _

_Feeling the bright warmth dance across my closed eyelids, I was nudged out of sleep. The sweet smell of my lavender-scented air wick spray wafted around the room. With a deep inhale, I took it all in. Filling my sinuses with the floral impression, my mind eased itself into consciousness. _

_Fluttering my eyes open, the bright white walls of my room reflected the sun, making the room give off an angelic glow. My toy-box was overflowed, and stuffed animals along with my barbies splayed out disorganized along my carpet floor. Turning my body onto my side, the first thing I noticed was that my Dalmatian, Rex, was napping on the foot of my bed. _

_With a giggle, I gave a small squeaky kiss. His ears perked up to the high-pitched noise, and his head slowly rose from his front paws. _

_"Hey boy" I called over to him. _

_He recognized my voice instantly, and his tail started to wag excitedly. Patting the spot next to me, he got up and stumbled awkwardly over to me. His large paws sunk into the mattress like a sponge, and he took his time. Flopping down to where I patted, he rounded his back against my stomach. He begged for a belly rub, and I happily obliged. His back leg twitched and kicked around happily, whining with enjoyment. _

_"Who's a good boy, huh? Yes, you're such a good boy!" I smothered him, praising in a baby voice. _

_He panted with a doggy smile. Yeah, he was my boy. _

_Then, both of our heads turned to the sound of my door slowly creaking open. A manicured hand slipped in around to grasp the door frame, and a pair of chocolate-brown eyes peered in. Moms white dazzling teeth showed with a cheerful smile, and she waved a good morning. Smiling back. We heard a second pair of footsteps waltz up behind her, and she turned to see Dad in his morning blue robe. Giving his wife a one-armed hug and kiss on the head, he took a sip of his steaming black let out a content sigh as the hot beverage traveled down his throat, feeling the caffeine flow through his body and wake him up. His eyes widened a fraction, and he welcomed me to this new morning. Returning with Mom back to the kitchen, I was left alone with Rex once again. His long tail swished across the surface of my sheets, smoothing the wrinkles flat. I jumped from my bed down to my carpeted floor with a gentle landing. Going to my bathroom that was connected with my room, I flicked on the light. Stretching and letting out a yawn, I opened my eyes to my reflection in my mirror. The overhead lights casted a soft glow upon my pale complexion, shining stars in my sapphire eyes. _

_I smiled to myself. Reaching over to grab my toothbrush, I turned on the tap with my other hand. Turning to squeeze a tube of paste upon the tiny bristles, I suddenly felt a draft sweep its way into the petite dwelling. A shiver ran down my spine, but I thought barely anything of it. Looking around, I saw that the window was shut, and the door was closed. Shrugging my shoulders, I ran the toothbrush under the water. But when I looked at the mirror again...I noticed something spooky. _

_The edges of the silver eclipse were browning with rust. _

_Placing my hands upon the sinks porcelain counter, I leaned up squinting my eyes to get a closer look to see if I was just seeing things. The metal was corroding. With a hesitant hand, I grazed my fingertips upon its new colouration. The surface was rough and gritty like sandpaper. But as soon as I touched it, the reflective shine shattered with an imploding crack! A spiderweb pattern shook the mirror, and reflected me dozens of times at once. I felt like it was straight out of a house of mirrors. The high-pitched break startled me and sent me back to the floor on my backside with a loud yelp. I slide a few centimeters across the tiled flooring and with a now aching head. Slowly picking myself off the floor, shaking like a leaf with hitched breathing, I cautiously inched my way back upright. Speckles of blood seeped through my paled skin, making them look like freckles. My hundreds of eyes stared back at me, frightened and confused. _

_The faucet suddenly started to shake, and the plumbing inside the wall units began to enact haunting sounds. The sound shook me to my core, sounding very similar to a person groaning in pain. Feeling vibrations ripple with a vibe almost paranormal through the drywall, I could feel that draft become more concentrated and real. The chilling air formed around me in a shivering embrace, like somebody was holding me from behind. The deep rumble traveled through the hidden plumbing system. I followed the sound all the way across the upper ceiling, a full three-hundred-and-sixty degree turn around with widened eyes, all the while the room would rot and peel away on its own, before the sound returned my attention to the protruding faucet. The silver head shook around violently, before spewing out a nightmarish fluid._

_Instead of water...it shot out splattering blood! _

_A scream tore through my throat, ripping apart my vocal cords like tissue paper. The building pressure grew and grew before becoming too much for the appliance to handle. The silver head shot off its base like a rocket, and through the ceiling. The blood came spewing like a geyser, spreading its deathly color all across the once white surface. The wretched liquid dripped off like rain, staining everything it touched. _

_Thick...warm...red...blood. _

_A second scream exploded from my lips, and I rushed out of the room. Slamming the door behind, I ran through the house. Behind, I didn't notice its white paint job peel away and the wood rot and yellow with age. _

_Calling for my parents, I didn't get the terrified responses I expected. _

_"We're in the kitchen dear!" I heard Mother call out. _

_But in her voice...she was calm and well collected. _

_Bolting into the kitchen with sweat dribbling down my face, I saw them acting as if everything was normal. Dad was cross-legged in his favorite chair at the head of the table with a buttered bagel in one hand, and a folded up copy of San Francisco Chronicle in the other. Mother was over a steaming oven, stirring what smelled like a bad batch of oatmeal. She was humming to her own tune, adding this and that to her culinary creation. Dad looked up from his paper only when I said his name. His eyes stayed perfectly calm when he saw me in my terrified state, even when I started to explain what just happened. _

_Through the whole ordeal...his face never faltered. _

_"That's real interesting dear" he said nonchalantly before returning to his paper. _

_I couldn't believe my ears. When I tried to get through to Mom, she barely even gave me a side glance or spark of interest. _

_Suddenly, that ghostly presence returned. The chilling arms embraced me, and I could feel a sickly vibe plague the atmosphere. Dad went for a bite of his bagel. But when his teeth crunched through the toasted bread, a swarm of flies flooded out of his mouth. Those that managed to crawl into his gullet found their way out through his nostrils! Buzzing around in a black swarm cloud, they carried a decomposing scent that made me wretch. Trickles of blood started to flow out of his nose following the disgusting insects appearance, dripping on the yellowing table-cloth. _

_Wait, yellowing table-cloth?! _

_Looking around anxiously, I could see the kitchen rotting away just like the bathroom! Dust covered every surface, nook and cranny. The walls and ceiling started to slowly open up, showing water stains and flitering in cycling sunlight. Outside, I finally noticed the sun repeatedly rising and setting. It flew over the sky and changed from light to dark so fast it felt like I was trapped in a twister. The more and more I was spun in this merry-go-round of horrors, the more the house changed. The food that was out overflowed with maggots and flies. Our crystal clear windows became dusty and cracked, some even shattered like the mirror. Furniture was riddled with dust bunnies, stains, and rotted as carpenter ants and mice made nests out of the wood and wool filling. _

_I couldn't believe my eyes. _

_What was going on?! _

_It was like...everything was dying!_

_But why weren't Mom or Dad at all afflicted by it?!_

_Suddenly, I heard the doorbell ring. Rushing to it, I ripped the door open. Hopefully, whoever it was, could help me understand this. _

_Looking up to the visitor, I saw it was Edward! _

_But...he didn't look OK. Looking behind him, I saw his parents rush out of the car and up to the front porch. Dreyfus had John in his arms, his face as white as a sheet. His son was hemorrhaging up violent fits in sneezing and coughing, splattering out blood upon the ivy strewn sidewalk. Letting Maddy and Dreyfus through without question, I stopped and stared out upon my neighborhood. _

_The streets and homes looked completely abandoned! Fires were spread out across the yards, emitting powerful stenches of the grave. Stained blood splatters smeared the inside of walls from through the front windows. They all resembled the insides of my home. Toys and furniture were thrown out across their yards, rusting and bleaching in what looked like years of sunlight. _

_Suddenly, I saw movement in one of the windows. A shadow danced across the back wall as if fleeing for their life. He turned out to be a young boy, almost my age. His dark brown hair was matted upon his scalp in a thick coat of gleaming sweat. His eyes were sunken in and held dark, sickly rings. His body was so white he almost looked transparent, shaking and terrified. He bolted from his front door with blood smeared on his hands, but it wasn't his. Screams enacted from the home he fled from, masking his own as he ran down the street. A hand reached out from the doorway, weak and caked in fresh dripping blood. An aggressive looking man snarled out profane and threatening curses at the running child, promising to haunt him in hell! He didn't look any better than the boy, actually, he looked worse. Blood streamed from his nose and mouth, some even coming from his eyes! He held a tight balled fist, holding it as long as he could in the air like he was declaring a word of a god, before he flopped down upon his front welcome mat...dead. _

_My eyes stayed widened with absolute terror, never taking them off of the presumed father of the boy. How could a father do that to his son?! _

_How could anybody do that to a boy?!_

_The boy fled across the park with his hands covering his eyes. But what he didn't realize...was that he charged straight into the communal pond. He screamed with all his might...as he was enveloped by the water. _

_I gasped, and jumped from my porch step. But as soon as I started to run, I felt a grizzly hand grasp my ankle. It held me in place with its clammy fingertips digging into my flesh. Whining at the sudden aching pain, I tried to pull away. Not moving an inch, I looked down to my captor. _

_I didn't think I could've screamed any louder. _

_Dad...was crawling on his hands and knees...tangled in his own vomited up innards..._

_His nose was gushing red, his eyes blank and near lifeless. His once peachy skin was beyond pale, and his clothes were tattered and stained with his own blood. He resembled a zombie! _

_"You...can''t...save him. No-Nobody...is...safe..."_

_With widened, terrified eyes, I kept trying to rip my leg from his grasp. Tears stung my eyes and my throat burned with scream after scream. His grip only tightened, painfully shifting my bones and cracking the joints with an iron fist. _

_"Let me go!" I cried. _

_A devious smile spread on his lips. _

_I could now see and hear the boys drowning cried. The splashing of the water sounded as clear as day in my ear. It was loud, and almost sounded as if I was next to it. His screams echoed in my ears, and I could almost feel him right next to me. _

_"Help!" _

_My head snapped up, and my eyes locked on the frightened child before me. His arms flailed wildly around above him as he tried to keep his head above the water. His desperate screams sounded animalistic, and shrieked with absolute fear. _

_"Don't leave me here to die!"_

* * *

My eyes shot open and I bolted upright with a start. I inhaled a sharp gasp which was followed instantly by hysteria panting. A layer of sweat caked my shaking, paled body. My chest trembled with fright as my heart beated a mile a minute. A salty, sticky stream had stained my cheeks.

Was I crying in my sleep?

Wiping the dried tears from my face, I noticed how my hand was quivering. Bringing it closer to my face, I held it against my chest with my opposite hand, sucking in a breath. That single gasp shot into my nose, and it hit me like a sack of bricks. I felt an aching pain explode through my head like a blossoming flower, making me cry out and my gut churn sour. My body lurched forward, and a wretch rippled through my stomach. Hot steaming bile leapt into my throat, and burned the raw, fleshy back of my mouth. I gagged with pain, and spat the sickly stomach acid into the ground in a wad of saliva. The dry sand soaked the spit up like a sponge as I panted, trying to cope with the pounding head ache. My hands squeezed my temples like a melon, digging my palms into the tender nerves. The pressure felt like my brain was gonna pop, but the ache was overwhelming.

I've never felt a more hammering pain in all my life.

Beneath my palms, I could feel my head go moist with cold sweat, and my skin burn hot. My teeth chattered as if I was freezing cold, sounding like a woodpecker. I could feel the back of my throat scorch with each breath I took, making them sound wheezy and cracked. Suddenly as I started to get up, a second wave of dizziness washed through me, and I was forced over on my hands and knees. My stomach emptied itself right into the mud, steaming with a putrid scent. I wretched out every last drop it had to offer, arching my back and sucking in my gut in sync like a cat would do to throw up a hairball.

"Oh my gosh..." I groaned.

Clutching my left arm around my lower gut, I felt it tighten with wave after wave of stomach cramps. Rolling over on my back, I grinded my teeth together, crying out through them. Soon enough, my mouth opened up wide, and a near deafening scream tore my vocal cords apart. I opened my eyes, and the first thing I noticed was the tree branches hanging over me. Their...their colors were much more vibrant than they should have been. Not only them...but everything I looked at. The bushes and rocks all swam in this invisible whirlwind, melding all onto one watercolor scenery. I could feel flies buzzing in my head, hearing their distinct aggravating hum. A bird perched itself in front of me, and once it opened its beak, I thought I went deaf.

Its chirp sounded like a nails on a chalkboard shrill, clawing at the insides of my brain. I blocked my ears with my hands, but it didn't help at all. With a growl, I chucked the first thing I felt at it. A fat gray stone 'thunked' against the thick redwood trunk, leaving a dent in the wood. The bird instantly spooked, taking flight into the sky with panicked cries. The pain subsided once it was out of earshot, and I stumbled back upon the steady hold upon my chest, I eased out my breaths, drawing them out to calm my nerves. I didn't have the slightest clue what was going on with me, but I didn't like it at all. The slightest movements from either plant or animal were amplified both by sight and sound by this unknown state of mind I was paralyzed in. Blood rushed through my veins swift and hot, heating my skin with a feverish fire.

Shaking my head, I tried to distill my sanity. Crawling over to the river's edge, I splashed handfuls of cool water upon my face. The flames extinguished only partially, but it was the first sense of relief from this illness. Spreading the water up and down my arms and legs repeatedly as if I was applying lotion to myself, I felt my cindering skin cool back to a semi-normal temperature. A sigh slipped through my parted lips, hanging my head back on my shoulders with ease. A gentle breeze blew in from the west, chilling the already cool touch. I felt refreshed, washing away not only the aches and pains, but also the many smudges of dried mud and sweat that clogged my pores. A vibrant sensation washed over me with the waters healing touch, and the pain subsided.

Without warning however, a sense of déjà vu plagued my mind. Feeling the cool touch of the water was invigourating...but it all brought back a dire memory...

_"Help me..." _

Snapping my eyes wide, I slapped off the dripping liquid and scooted away from the shore. A flash of red stained the entirety of my arm, emitting the strong putrid scent of death.

_"Don't leave me..." _

The look in that boys eyes...the absolute terror and fear...

It...it all felt so real...

_"Ahh!" _

Like he was here now...

Wait!

I reopened my solemn eyes with a spark of realization, snapping my head upright. A distant cry echoed in my ears, ringing like iron bells. Whatever was happening to me, I felt an animalistic enhance in my hearing. That must've been why I snapped at the close bird before! Getting up, I could hear a voice shriek out, bouncing off the low canyon walls. I couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from, but it sounded close.

Very close.

Turning my body around to inspect the whole environment, I kept looking side to side. It was strange. They would call out once second, be silenced, then cry out again. A second string of déjà vu wrapped around my mind, and I knew exactly where they were.

Whirling my head around, my hair flicked behind me in a fan-flare, face paled, and eyes focused on the white water rapids.

There...bobbing out of the waves...was a hand!

* * *

A nightmare transformed into a psychedelic trip from Magic Mushrooms D8

What's gonna happen?!

I got a concept cemented down for foundation and development for her encounter with the apes :D How she'll meet n greet, how she'll react, and how she'll cope. This is the longest chapter so far, but I have something else already written that will be published as a chapter that's more or less longer :D

STAY TUNED!

And remember. *Beats fist on chest*

**"APES. TOGETHER. STRONG!" **

**"KNOWLEDGE. IS. POWER!" **

**"APE. NOT. KILL. APE!"**

**ALL HAIL CAESAR!**

Lol XD ALSO, on another note, this was updated right before my 16th birthday :D Yay! Oct 6th is my actual day of birth, so I guess finally getting this chapter done and posted is like my own little early birthday present to myself and you guys XD If that makes sense...meh.

Staying up late on a school-night for YOU GUYS! :D THATS HOW MUCH I LUV U!

Rate and Review! 3


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